If Darkness Could Befriend
by Zooming
Summary: Hotaru from Sailor Moon and Matt from Digimon are sucked into a new world. Now they must work together and defeat the evil in this world before returning to their own. Will they be able to succeed with the help of some new friends? -discontinued-
1. Ripples to a New World

Well.I don't own Digimon obviously, and I don't own Sailor Moon.  
  
This is my first fic so please be nice. I'll take any kind of review though.bad, good. I just wanna know how you guys feel about my writing.  
  
If Darkness Could Befriend Ch 1: Ripples to a New World  
  
Hotaru lifted her amethyst eyes up to the sky, the wind tossing her dark purple hair around her face. It seemed perfectly normal. In fact, it was a bright sunny day with a beautiful blue sky. Everything seemed just fine. Seemed. But Hotaru had a sense. Something was obviously wrong. She shrugged it off and began to walk swiftly to the apartment where the outer senshis were staying. Whatever was wrong she'd be safer with them.  
  
You can't escape it. Hotaru began to walk faster, a chill running up her spine. Had someone just tell her something? Voices in your head were never a good sign. Then she stopped and laughed at her silliness. She must have been mad! Voices in her head. What was she thinking? She let the feeling just fade away. She'd be fine. But she couldn't help wishing that Rini were with her. But her Serena had taken her shopping with Darien. They had offered for her to come but she had refused. She sure did feel stupid for that. Nevertheless she decided to walk back to the park and enjoy the rest of the day.  
  
She had gone back to the park and now she wanted to go back. What was wrong with her? Why did she feel so restless? Then it hit her again. Maybe something was wrong. She plopped herself down on a bench. She had to calm down. She watched a flower petal land on a puddle. The water rippled of course, as all water should when something hits its surface. But for some reason, this made her a bit sleepy. She rested her head on the arm of the bench. A nap wouldn't hurt. She felt her consciousness slowly leave her. Right before she fell asleep she felt the feeling of something being wrong come back to her.  
  
~  
  
"Well, this one sure is a catch!" A drunk man said.  
  
"Sure is! We ought to sell 'er to the highest bidder, Ralph!"  
  
"Just our luck to find a gurl right outside of dis here town!"  
  
Hotaru did not like the sound of that. She slowly opened her eyes. There before her stood two men, eyes bloodshot, obviously drunk. They were very rugged and looked like they hadn't bathed in months. She cringed in disgust. She knew she shouldn't have fallen asleep. Now she had been kidnapped! Wait! Where was she? She looked around. Completely new scenery to her. She began to panic, looking for something she knew. This had to be a dream! She moved her hands to help herself into a better position. She paused. They were bound! She muttered curses to herself.  
  
"Look it! Our little find is awake!" The man who was not Ralph said. Hotaru froze and then looked up at him.  
  
"Let me go, please." Hotaru pleaded.  
  
"Now, why would we do something so stupid?"  
  
"Because you found that somewhere in your heart you don't want to keep a poor innocent girl captive because you know she hasn't done anything to you?"  
  
The two men burst into laughter. She glared at them, little crystalline beads beginning to leak from her eyes. She couldn't believe this was happening. How did she get into this predicament? It was impossible! 'That's it!' She thought to herself. This must be a dream. She closed her eyes and willed herself to appear back in the park on the bench. Of course, she didn't. Then it finally sunk in. This was not a dream. She began to struggle wildly. The men just laughed at her again.  
  
"Where are we? Let me go! Let me go, please!" Hotaru pleaded. They just continued to laugh at her. 'What's going to happen to me?' She asked herself. She wanted to just disappear. How had this happened?  
  
~  
  
Matt was 'cleaning' his room. (A/N: This is season 01 Matt) Well, it was clean enough he assumed. He was actually talking to the other digidestined on his computer. It had been a few months since their whole adventure had ended and of course, when something that impacts your life so much ends you just don't forget about it! They were still talking about it. How they missed their Digimon. How they missed the digital world. Even how they missed not seeing each other every day. Matt sighed. Sometimes he wished he was still there.  
  
"I miss our arguments and stuff. You know, the ones you started." Tai typed. Matt glared at the screen.  
  
"Excuse me? The ones I started? You started them."  
  
"Naw, I'm positive it was you Matt!" Matt chuckled. He did miss their little squabbles.in an odd, twisted sort of way.  
  
Then a message popped up.  
  
"So friendship bearer? You think your task is over?" Matt read it and choked. He instantly shoved himself away from the computer. He turned away and instantly his eyes fell onto his mirror. It was wrong. He took a few steps until he was face to face with it. It was.rippling?  
  
"This is too weird." Matt whispered and turned around. He cursed his room layout as he looked at his computer again. This time, across the whole screen it read:  
  
"Touch the mirror." Matt shivered. What was happening. Did he dare to touch his mirror. It seemed awfully foolish of him to listen to what a computer said. Especially if the computer sounded possessed. He didn't know what came over him, he supposed it was curiosity.  
  
"Oh, what the hell." He muttered as he reached out and touched the mirror.  
  
~  
  
Matt's eyes snapped open. He wasn't in his bedroom anymore. But, he had grown accustomed to suddenly being pulled into different worlds. This world, though was new. He stood in front of a city. It seemed like something out of a story book, or medieval times, or something of that sort.  
  
"Where am I?" Matt couldn't help but ask himself.  
  
~  
  
So whaddya think? Do you like it? Do you hate it? Is it interesting? Please let me know. If you want another chapter I'm only asking for 3.yes 3 positive reviews. I hope I get them. I kind of liked writing this.^_^ Please oh PLEASE review. Arigatoo Gozaimasu. 


	2. New Friendships

.Again, I don't own Digimon or Sailor Moon.  
  
YAY!!! I'm so happy! One of my friends reviewed so that's why I'm writing. I didn't tell her where it was. *Glares at guy who blabbed it out. * Anyways, that guy is now getting the silent treatment. I don't know how long it'll last but it is kind of funny to see him begging me to talk to him. *Snickers. * Well, back to business. The first chapter was painfully short. That was because it was the first chapter! All the other ones I hope to be longer, but a girl can't promise the future, ne? I have fun writing this, but it's too serious. Okay! Here I go!  
  
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If Darkness Could Befriend Ch. 2: New Friendships  
  
(A/N: It's oddly fun to do that!)  
  
"Could you please tell me what you plan on doing with me?" Hotaru begged.  
  
"We're just a goin' to a sell ya as one of them there slaves!" Ralph answered.  
  
"A'yup! To the highest bidder!" His friend added.  
  
Hotaru did NOT want to be sold as a slave. She began to protest very loudly, but they just laughed at her. They were getting on her nerves, but what could she do? She began to figure a plan out. Her hands were bound, her legs were not. She could run, but where would that get her? Away, yes, but what was to keep them from catching up. Overall she decided to let things just play out, but in the mean time she was gonna stall; she was gonna do so by struggling.  
  
For the next fifteen minutes she led them on a chase as she ran in crazy circles around trees. She was glad they were drunk, because they were only slightly gaining on her. Had they not been they might have caught her by now, but she was getting tired. After all, P.E. wasn't exactly her best subject. But all good things must end, and they finally caught up to her and dragged her into the city; laughing? She felt like socking them. Was that all they could do? Laugh? What was so funny anyways?  
  
"Why are you going to sell me? You can't just sell someone you find! For that matter, you can't sell anyone! It's illegal!" Hotaru protested.  
  
"Where have you been? It's perfectly normal and legal." One of them said. She'd didn't care which. Then it hit her. Obviously, different worlds would have different ways.  
  
"I don't want to be a slave!" She cried, hitting Ralph with her free arm, which was dragging her by the other. Then he slapped her. Hotaru recoiled and shut up. Hatred boiled up inside of her. If she ever got her hands on her glaive, oh was he dead!  
  
Then, finally, they entered the town.  
  
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Meanwhile, Matt was entering on the other side of town. 'Definitely medieval,' He thought to himself. It seemed like a peaceful little town. Little cottages could be seen, and stands with food, weapons, armor, and random items dotted the road. What exactly was he supposed to do here? Maybe he'd find the other digidestined around or something. He certainly hoped so. It was making him feel sort of awkward to be in a new place with no one he knew. He decided to get some answers to little questions popping up in his mind.  
  
"Excuse me miss, but what's the currency here?" He asked a girl at one of the weapon carts a few years older than him.  
  
"The same as practically anywhere else, CC's." The girl replied.  
  
"Sorry, sir, but what does that stand for? I happen to be new here and I've never heard of those before. In fact, I'm kinda lost." Matt informed.  
  
"Really? It stands for copper coins, actually. (A/N: I'm sooo original, aren't I?) So since you're lost and you don't know what copper coins are you must not have any. Poor thing!" She fussed. Matt nodded, slightly embarrassed. He had been discovered. She giggled at him.  
  
"I'm not supposed to do this, but I'll give you some copper coins! My father will have my head, but oh well. If you need a place to stay, come back here, okay?" I'll help you out a little." She smiled at him.  
  
"Sure, um, my name's Matt. What's yours?"  
  
"Shina. It's a pleasure to meet you, Matt! Are you going to explore?"  
  
"Yah, probably. Hey, thanks for all your help!" Matt replied.  
  
"No prob. It's not every day that I meet guys who don't know what copper coins are." She laughed. Matt sighed. He must have looked like an idiot to her earlier. Oh, well. Maybe he'd explain his situation to her later. She seemed like a very nice girl, and she had given him, um, copper coins. Then he went off.  
  
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Matt had gone around for about five minutes. For such a little town it was actually quite busy. He decided it was a pretty nice place, though he sort of missed his own world. He had discovered that this town had no digital supplies. No computers, clocks, microwaves, nothing. He had spent all his money on food. She had given him a pretty adequate amount, but of course, she hadn't poured it on him. He had enough supplies to last him a few day. He supposed he'd have to ask Shina for help about where he was going to sleep tonight. Either that or he'd have to sleep outside. Not that bothered him too much. After all, he had done it a lot in the Digital World, but he preferred a bed to the hard ground. And who doesn't?  
  
Just then he had been lost in thought about where he was going to sleep and he bumped into someone's back. He snapped back into reality and apologized.  
  
"Stupid kid! Watch where you're going!" The man growled at him. Matt backed up and turned sideways to go around him, but another guy blocked that way. Matt looked around the street in front of him and saw that a bunch of men had crowded around something. He tapped a guy on the shoulder.  
  
"Um.sir? What's going on? Why are all these people swarming?" He asked.  
  
"You haven't heard? They're selling a slave! That always attracts attention because usually nobles are the only ones who are offered slaves. And this one is a pretty girl, caught on the road by drunk men. If I were them I'd keep her for myself, but hey, like I said, they're drunk." He let out a chuckle. Matt nodded. Then he began pushing his way through the crowd to see this 'slave' girl. He had become quite curious. He finally broke out in the front. (Since he was younger than all the guys in the crowd he didn't have too hard of a time getting there.) Then he stared up the podium and met Hotaru's amethyst eyes and held them with his sapphire ones. They held each other's gaze, but Hotaru soon broke it as she began to try to escape again. Matt sighed and felt sorry for her. Then a thought popped into his head. 'Buy her yourself' His brain told him. He stuck his hand in his pocket and found he had no more copper coins. He cursed under his breath and began searching through his pocket. He pulled out the contents. A ten-dollar bill and a digital watch he had received from some girl who had had a crush on him. He stared at what he had in disgust. What could he do with these? He stared at the watch. It was orange, a color he wasn't particularly fond of. He had left it in his pocket because he liked the watch he was wearing much more. Then a devious smile crawled onto his face as an idea popped into his head.  
  
"Hey! Look what I have!" Matt called out. He didn't like attracting attention very much, but he was going to have fun this time. He'd have to give it his best act. He had gotten almost everyone's attention, even Hotaru's.  
  
"Isn't this the neatest thing? It tells time!" He held it up for everyone to see. They all stared in amazement as the seconds and minutes passed. Hotaru giggled quietly. She realized none of these people had ever seen anything of this likes before.  
  
"And LOOK! This is the best thing about it." He pressed a button. And it began to glow. Hotaru began to laugh. All the men began to glare at her, but soon their eyes were drawn to the watch again. Ralph walked up to Matt.  
  
"I'll trade you this girl for that wonderful item!" He pulled Hotaru up. Matt looked reluctant.  
  
"I don't know. Hmm." Matt pondered fakely.  
  
"Please, Please!" Ralph's friend begged.  
  
"Well, okay, I guess." Matt said resentfully. Ralph whispered 'sucker' as he threw Hotaru at Matt, who caught her and stumbled back. Matt untied her bounds and pulled her out. Once they were a safe distance away they both collapsed to the ground and began to laugh. Then Hotaru paused.  
  
"A digital watch! You traded me for a digital watch? But thanks for helping me out there! I didn't know what was going to happen to me. I'm surprised to find someone who knows about technology! But thanks sooo much!" Hotaru said, still laughing. Then they settled down.  
  
"If you're a slave girl how do you know about digital watches?" Matt asked.  
  
"I'm not a slave girl. They found me. I was asleep." Hotaru pouted.  
  
"Oh. Okay. I see! I'm Ishida Yamato, but you can call me Matt." Matt said happily.  
  
"Nice to meet you Matt! I'm Tomoe Hotaru, but please call me Hotaru. Do you happen to know where Japan is?" She asked.  
  
"Um, yah. I live in it!"  
  
"Oh! Me too! So we were both sucked into this place! But what are we doing here?"  
  
"I'm not sure. I just know that something wants us here and I have a feeling it won't let us back to earth until we do what it wants. We were obviously brought here for a purpose; well, it's obvious to me. This has sort of happened to me before, except in a different world, with a group of kids I knew. But I'm glad I've found someone else from Japan! Maybe there are more people here from our world! We ought to stick together." Matt said. Hotaru nodded her head in agreement. Then she giggled.  
  
"What?" Matt asked  
  
"A digital watch!"  
  
"Yah! Their probably still pressing the snooze light button. Hey, you want to know something? You're pretty cute." Matt said. Hotaru blushed and turned away.  
  
Matt chuckled and pulled her to her feet. "Come on Hotaru, let's go! I'll ask a friend I made if she can help us out with where to stay. Then, after that, maybe we can try to figure out what we're supposed to do." Then he began to lead her to Shina's cart. It had been quite an interesting day for both so far.  
  
"So Matt, how did you get here?" She asked along the way.  
  
"The computer told me to touch my mirror." She held back a laugh.  
  
"Really, that's crazy! You're so silly. Tell me the truth." She rolled her eyes. She stared at him and stopped giggling seeing that he was dead serious.  
  
"Oh. Sorry. So the mirror brought you here?"  
  
"Yah. It was rippling and since the computer told me to, I touched it. I know it's pretty dumb to listen to a computer, but I got curious. So how'd you get here?"  
  
"I fell asleep." She said. She gave him a look that said 'don't you say a thing.' He just smiled and soon they met up with Shina.  
  
"Hey Shina!" Matt called out. "I found a friend! Do you think you could get her a place to stay too?"  
  
"Hey Matt! I know we have two spare rooms in my house! I'm sure it's okay!"  
  
"Oh. We're staying at your house? Is it okay with your parents?" Matt asked. "I really don't want to impose or anything and it's such short notice."  
  
"It's fine, Matt. Now introduce me to your friend!" Shina said stubbornly.  
  
"Oh, sorry. Shina, this is Hotaru. Hotaru, this is Shina." Matt introduced.  
  
"Nice to meet you Hotaru! I hope we become good friends!"  
  
"Nice to meet you too. Thanks for helping us out." Hotaru replied. Shina smiled at her and the began to usher them into the cottage behind her.  
  
"C'mon, let's go ask my parents." Matt sighed, remembering that her parents knew nothing of this.  
  
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"Why do you always ask us on such short notice, Shina? I know you like helping people, but why do you always put us on the spot?" Her father argued.  
  
"Geez father. But you'll let them stay right?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Thanks a lot sir. We have no copper coins and we've got no place to stay. This is a big favor to us! Thank so much. And also, you shouldn't yell at Shina. It's my fault. Anyways, Shina's such a kind girl." Matt suddenly said.  
  
"Don't worry about it. It's just that sometimes she brings home odd crowds. Here in Rean Village (Matt thinks, 'Oh! That's what this village is called!) we don't usually take weird folk into our houses for no apparent reason, but if Shina sees them she insists that they not have to pay for a hotel and lets them stay here, regardless of what they're like. She says that maybe she'll find someone from a long way away who can tell her about knew things." Shina's mother assured them. "Now go up your rooms. And get yourself settled. Please help Shina bring up the sheets and blankets."  
  
As they carried the blankets and sheets up Shina stopped them in the upstairs corridor. "So where exactly are you guys from?" She asked with an air of mystery. Matt and Hotaru glanced at each other. Then Hotaru nodded.  
  
"You want the truth?" Matt asked. She noticed. "Promise not to tell anyone?"  
  
"No! Of COURSE I promise! Just get on with it Matt!" Shina growled.  
  
"Okay, we're from a different world called Earth. We were pulled into your world for some odd reason and I figure that we're here for some purpose. I assume that once we fulfill that purpose we can go back home." Matt explained.  
  
"Oh wow! That's so cool!" Shina bursted out. Matt put his finger to his mouth and shushed her as they entered the room Hotaru was to stay in.  
  
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It was late at night now. Almost midnight. Matt was just about to go to sleep when Shina slipped into his room. Matt sat up and stared at her.  
  
"Sorry to bother you so late Matt, but I was just thinking about what you said. And so I brought you this." She held out something to him. It was long and she had wrapped it in cloth. Matt took it and unwrapped it. There he peered at a beautiful sheath with ancient designs on it. It was dark blue and the designs were trimmed with silver. Matt fingered it and then looked to the hilt. It was carved so elaborately and it was embedded with sapphires. In the center of the hilt was a large, diamond cut sapphire. He fingered it in awe. Finally he could only say one thing.  
  
"For me?" He choked out.  
  
"Yah, dumbo! No! It's for some other person named Matt!" Matt smiled at her and she smiled back. "Don't just sit there in bed! Try it out!" Matt nodded and stood up. Matt unsheathed the sword when it began to glow with the blue of his crest. He felt himself grow a little stronger.  
  
"Hah! As I thought! It was meant for you! I dreamed of this sword and a voice in the dream told me to give this to a boy from a different world with sapphire eyes. And then, when I awoke it was laying there on my lap! I felt it was you. Anyways, you can't just go wandering about, defenseless! I was thinking about what you said. I'll take you to the fortuneteller tomorrow. Maybe she knows what you're supposed to do.  
  
Matt smiled at her. "Thank you! Thank you so much! It's the coolest thing I've ever seen!"  
  
"Also, Hotaru has a weapon. I went in there and asked her if she wanted one and she said 'no thanks.' Then she began to concentrate and she was engulfed in purple magic and a glaive formed in her hand. That was the coolest thing ever! Hah! Now you both have weapons! You two look so cute together."  
  
"Hotaru and I?" Matt asked.  
  
"Yes, Matt. Now go to sleep. I think you'll have a busy day tomorrow too." Then she left Matt with that final thought.  
  
"Hotaru and I look cute together?" Matt asked himself.  
  
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So how'd you like it? I sure had fun writing it! In fact! It's now 1:50 at this moment that I'm typing. If my parents catch me I'm busted. HAHAHAHAHAHAH! I'm such a bad little girl. I had so much fun writing this that I couldn't stop. I hope someone reviews this. I knoe, I have weird thoughts and ideas. I hope I get to write more soon. I wrote this all in one night! YAAAAY! Now you know why my name is Sleepy Shadow Mistress, ne? (I made that SN up at night) Well, good night guys. I hope you like this chap. Like I said before. Please review! 


	3. Happenings

Well, well, well. Here I am again at night. I didn't put a request on reviews for the second chapter, though I felt that one was more interesting. I'm just typing this because, well I don't know why. I'm bored. My best friend is on her way to Albuquerque (it's kinda hard to spell, ne?) and there's a big party happening at my house. But everyone's a little kid. So here I am, typing in the dead of the night. I have no idea how this chapter will turn out. I'm just going to type out what pops in my mind so if something out of place or horrible happens that's because I'm not thinking about what goes down when I type it. HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Let's type down random things and see what happens! Weee! Wooheehoo I'm a Chocobo! Oh, yes. If you aren't my friend and you've noticed my weird coupling, you haven't even seen the kind of couples I think up and like! I'm WEIRD and I'm PROUD OF IT! Did you guys notice that my layout for chapters has been changing? I'm EXPIREMENTING! Perfectly normal, k? I'm trying to find out what looks best since this is my first ficcie! Whoo hoo! Okay, sorry for wasting time. Here we go.  
  
(When I don't know what to do I tend to ramble so that the chapter ends up really long, but full of absolutely zero content, just warning you in case you notice it happening. I don't mean to, it just sort of happens. Pray that I don't do that here cuz I'm not gonna change anything drastic once I've typed stuff. ARGG!!!! I'm already rambling!! Well, never the mind! I don't think I'll be able to finish tonight. Nya! Well, back to business. To the story! WEEEE~!  
  
Also, of course, I don't own Digimon or Sailor Moon. I wish I owned Matt. I WANT MATT!!!!! *Weeps* Why can't I have Matt and his finess? Life's so unfair.  
  
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If Darkness Could Befriend Ch. 3: Happenings  
  
Hotaru's eyes fluttered open as sunlight crawled onto her face from the window above her bed. She got up and rubbed her eyes. She grabbed her glaive and savored the feeling of having it back in her hands. If she was going to run around some new world she shouldn't be defenseless. If someone did try to kidnap her again they'd have to answer to her glaive. Then her thoughts drifted to Matt. How was he going to defend himself? Just then a knock came on the door. Hotaru got up and opened it. Shina stood there.  
  
"Good morning Shina. What is it?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"Well, breakfast is served. We're having pancakes! (A/N: For breakfast in all my stories that I've wrote it's usually eggs or pancakes. That was just a useless bit of info, but oh well. You guys are just reading. What's a couple more sentences of ramble gonna do to ya?) Let's go wake up Matt!" Shina chimed. Hotaru nodded and they set off for Matt's room.  
  
"I like your glaive! It's so neat! And it's like meant for you or something. I sell weapons and I've never seen anything by the likes of it. Does it have any special qualities?" Shina prodded.  
  
"Yah. It channels my powers." Hotaru left it at that. She could tell Shina wanted more of an answer, but they were right at Matt's door now. Hotaru opened the door quietly and found Matt perfectly awake. In fact, it looked like he had woke up at least an hour ago. Hotaru stared at the sword that had somehow found its way into Matt's hands. He was practicing with it. He looked absolutely at ease with the sword, swinging it around, like he had grown up with it in his hands. In fact, it didn't seem like it was just a sword, rather just an extension of his arm. She squinted at the sword and noticed the sapphires. 'Ha! Fits him perfectly! Wonder how he got his hands on it?' She thought to herself. Then she felt something shove her. She tipped and tottered desperately trying to keep her balance quietly. Then, the inevitable happened and she landed on the floor with a thud. Matt jumped back from the door and dropped his sword in surprise. Meanwhile, the door swung back, revealing a laughing Shina. Hotaru got to her feet and sighed.  
  
"It's rude to spy on people, Hotaru!" Shina teased. Hotaru sighed again. Matt let out a sigh of relief and grabbed his sword, slipping it into his sheath. Then he sent a confused look at the both of them.  
  
"Uh, good morning Matt!" Hotaru laughed nervously.  
  
"Uh, good morning Hotaru? Good morning Shina?" Matt asked, bewildered.  
  
"HAHAHAHA! BEAUTIFUL entrance, was it not Matt?" Shina bursted out. Matt nodded fakely. Hotaru blushed and glared at Shina for a split second.  
  
"Well, anyways. We just wanted to tell you that breakfast is ready." Hotaru interrupted Shina's fits of laughter. Then Shina stopped.  
  
"That's my job. I do announcements!" Shina growled, lips pursed. Hotaru nodded nervously. Then Shina was back to laughing. She walked down the stairs and signaled them to follow. Matt stared at Hotaru after Shina was out of hearing range.  
  
"You are okay right? Sorry about Shina. I don't know her too well yet, but of course she likes to play around. She's really a very nice person. I'm sorry for the both of us that I didn't notice you. That scared me half out of my wits." Matt said.  
  
"No problem. I'm not hurt. I'm sorry that I didn't let you know I was there. I was just noting your sword." Hotaru assured him.  
  
"Oh this? It's the coolest thing I've ever come across. It feels so natural when I hold it. Haha! I'm being silly. Shina gave it to me. She said it was meant for me. I know it's not likely but it's possible, right? I can dream." Matt said, laughing nervously.  
  
"Weapons can be made for people, you know." Hotaru argued, boasting her glaive. "This is what I use my powers through. It's meant for me. Why couldn't their be a sword meant for you. You shouldn't doubt Shina. Anyways, if you did, she'd put up an argument as well. C'mon, sword boy, let's go eat breakfast. I swear, if I don't get something in my stomach I'll collapse!" Hotaru said.  
  
"I'm not hungry." Matt argued. His stomach just then, let out a growl. Hotaru raised an eyebrow and gave him an, 'is that so?' smile. He sighed at his own stomach's betrayal. "Okay, maybe just a little." He said finally. Hotaru smiled and he let her pull him down the stairs.  
  
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"That was nice. I was actually pretty hungry." Matt said as he set down his fork.  
  
"Pretty hungry is an understatement!" Hotaru protested.  
  
"Yah, Matt. You wolfed down those pancakes like there was no tomorrow!" Shina agreed. Then Hotaru and Shina began eating again, seeing that they were only half way through. Matt glanced down at his plate and saw that not a crumb remained. He laughed nervously.  
  
"I guess you guys are right!" He said. Matt watched them eat and got bored. "Hey, um, I'm gonna go outside and umm, sell weapons or something." They nodded.  
  
So Matt headed outside and stood by Shina's cart. He stood there for a while watching people go by unenthusiastically. In fact he had sort of spaced out.  
  
"Hey," A sturdy voice called out. Matt didn't even flinch.  
  
"Hey, kid." He tried again. He waited a few minutes and sighed.  
  
"Hey! Kid! Are you alive?" The guy shouted. Matt snapped out of it and jumped back in surprise. Then he stared at the man who had been talking to him.  
  
"Huh? Wha- oh hello! I'm sorry. I kind of spaced out. How may I help you?" Matt said laughing at himself for spacing out.  
  
"You can help me by staying alive. You oughtn't just doze off for no reason." Matt stared up at him. He was pretty tall and had the same golden, spiky hair and blue eyes as Matt. For that matter, he looked almost like Matt mirror image, besides the fact that he was about three years older and his eyes showed way more knowledge than any boy that age Matt had seen. He was wearing blue armor with silver trim. Matt glanced down at the guy's side. There was his sword. He took a step back and murmured, 'Creepy.'  
  
"Yah, it kind of is creepy. You've met Hotaru right?" The guy asked.  
  
"Yeah. Who are you?" Matt asked.  
  
"It's kind of obvious. I'm you." The guy laughed sadly. "Hey, Matt, learn more magic because this is the only magic that I know. To project one's image into the past, ha, it was kind of fun at first." Then his older self winced.  
  
"What? What is it?" Matt asked. It was creepy. This was way too weird!  
  
"I've been poisoned. Keep Hotaru safe. Don't ever let her out of your sight. I don't want you to end up like this. They'll find me soon. And don't get yourself killed? Got me? I don't know how I let this happen. Shit, they've found me. Watch out for a girl about your age. She'll-" But before he could finish his image flickered out. Matt stared horrified at where his older self had stood. What exactly had just happened? His older self had just appeared to him. He shivered as his imagination went wild with what could have happened. And what had his older self tried to tell him? Matt turned around and came face to face with Hotaru and Shina. They were both staring at him funny.  
  
"What?" Matt asked, confused.  
  
"Um, Matt, why the hell were you talking to air? You looked like an idiot. Are you delusional or something?" Shina asked. Hotaru stayed silent but was looking at him quizzically.  
  
"Well, never mind that. We're going to the fortuneteller now. Did you sell anything?" Shina asked. Matt shook his head. "Of course. It was dumb of me to ask. Probably scared off everyone what with your talking to some invisible thing or something. Don't worry Matt, whatever it is, it's probably all in your mind." Matt wondered. Was it all in his mind? Stuff like that just didn't happen. He wondered. But then, if stuff like that just didn't happen why was he even here? 'You're stressing yourself out too much. Just think about it later.' He thought to himself.  
  
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They had arrived at the fortuneteller's. Hotaru sensed a large amount of magical energy coming from here. She stepped inside and saw an old lady with long black hair.  
  
"Come in, child, don't be afraid. What is it you want today?" Hotaru walked up to her and she grabbed Hotaru's hand. Then she quickly let it go.  
  
"You are the soldier of silence and destruction." The woman said tensely. Hotaru sighed and gave the woman her space.  
  
"Hey Mira! How goes the fortune telling?" Shina said enthusiastically as she bursted through the tent's flaps, dragging Matt along. Then she ran over and embraced the woman tightly.  
  
"Hello, Hello, Shina, my child. You haven't visited me in weeks. What is it that you want?" Mira asked.  
  
"My friends here are from a different world and they're confused to why they're here. I figured you might be able to help them." Shina explained.  
  
"Well! This has never happened before! Come, come, sit around this circle." The woman beckoned, waving her hand at a ring in the center of the room. Matt and Hotaru shrugged and took a seat besides Mira and Shina. Then the woman sprinkled some dust over the ring. Then a great flame bursted from it, almost touching the ceiling before dying down to the normal size of a fire.  
  
"No wonder this place is so tall." Matt joked. Shina glared at him and elbowed him in the ribs.  
  
Mira stared into the fire and her eyes suddenly went blank. "Welcome child of Friendship, welcome child of Death. Your journey is quite clear to me." A woman's unearthly voice rang out. "There is a dark ruler on the other side of the mountains that border Rean. His land is dark and his servants are of shadow. You must stop him from destroying this world, for only you have the ability to stop him. That is why you are here. But it will not be easy. You must go to the nine ruins of light and collect the treasure that each hold before you can even stand a chance against him. He'll try to deceive you. Many have tried to destroy him, but his power is too great and he is tricky. You must take great caution. How you will find the ruins and his dwelling place, I do not know. And do not neglect this duty. If you do this world will be eaten by darkness and so will you." Matt and Hotaru stared at each other.  
  
"I have a few questions." Matt said. She nodded for him to continue. "How did this guy come to rule?"  
  
"None of us are sure. We don't know if he is under anyone's power or if he is the start of this himself. All we know is that slowly he is taking over this whole world. Otherwise, we know nothing. Your next question?"  
  
"Who are you?" Matt had opened his mouth to talk, but Hotaru had asked the question first.  
  
"I am a great entity of this land. You could say I am the force that gives life to this world and I cannot win against him. How one person can have so much darkness, I do not know. But slowly my power dwindles over the land his power is on. I can do nothing. Be careful, silence child, you have much darkness in you. Almost an impossible amount for a normal human. I wonder, are you a normal human? But, besides that, be cautious. He will see it in you. And you, boy, if you think that just because you drove all your darkness away in the Digital World you have gotten rid of it. You have not driven it away; rather shut it back in your heart. Don't be naïve and let it take over you again. And like I have said. Let nothing go unchecked. He has many spies and servants under him and I believe he is aware that you have entered this world. It will not be easy. I leave you now."  
  
"I hate prophecies, all they do is trap you." Matt murmured. "Now we don't have a choice of what to do." He sighed.  
  
"Wow! You guys are gonna be heroes! That's so cool. I wish I could go on an adventure, too. But nooo! My father says, 'you have to stay home and slave your life away sell stupid weapons and blah blah blah this and blah blah blah that!' AAARRRRG!!!" She exploded.  
  
"I wish I could be as happy about this as you, but I don't see what's so great about putting ourselves in certain danger. It seems sort of foolish to me. Heh. Well, I could be wrong. I wonder what that ruler's problem is. Doesn't he have anything better to do?" Matt said to Shina. Then his thoughts drifted to his older self. Was he to die across those mountains by that guy's hands? He shoved the thoughts out of his mind. 'I really need something fun to happen.' He said to himself.  
  
"I'm gonna go give prepare stuff for you guys to take on your adventure." Shina said, rushing out of the tent. "Bye Mira!" She called at the last second.  
  
"Wow, she sure is eager to get rid of us, isn't she?" Matt joked. Hotaru laughed. Then they both said their good byes and thanks to the fortuneteller and headed out.  
  
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They were walking back to Shina's house when Hotaru stopped Matt. "Matt, I don't think you were talking to air. It's been bugging me the whole time. What happened when you were at the weapon cart? What exactly did you see? When you turned to look at us you looked like you had seen a ghost. What happened?" She asked, worriedly.  
  
"I saw myself." He answered and began walking again.  
  
"Oh no you don't! I want an answer!" She protested, grabbing the back of his collar.  
  
"Okay, okay Hotaru. I was probably just hearing and seeing things and I'm probably delusional like what Shina said, but oh well. Since your so bent out of shape I guess I'll tell you." Matt said with a sigh.  
  
"Don't doubt yourself, Matt." Hotaru said, letting go of his collar.  
  
"Got ya!" Matt shouted and began to run ahead. Hotaru stared at him in disbelief and began to chase after him. This was the second time she had to run around in crazy circles, except this time she wasn't the one being chased.  
  
"Matt come back! You're so crazy!" She saw him dart around into an open place. "Finally!" She said with relief. She didn't like dodging all these people. She entered the open space and looked around. Matt was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"Matt? Matt? This isn't funny! Where are you?" She called nervously. She looked around the square for five minutes, not seeing anyone. "I'm serious Matt." She looked around and saw a flower cart. She decided to ask the owner is he had seen Matt. She walked over.  
  
"Excuse me sir. Have you seen a guy around my age with gold hair and dark blue eyes?" Hotaru asked. The guy shook his head no, but chuckled a little. "What is it?" Hotaru asked. All of a sudden there was a flower in her face.  
  
"EEEEEEK!!! WHAT THE-!!" Hotaru shrieked jumping back into Matt's arms, who was cracking up.  
  
"MAAAATT!!" Hotaru shouted, turning to face him. She shoved him angrily. Then she began to laugh too and gave him a friendly hug. Matt stopped laughing and blushed.  
  
"What? Hasn't anyone hugged you before?" Matt nodded dumbly.  
  
"I got you a flower." Matt said finally, holding up the flower with a smile. She took it and smiled at him. It was a purple Iris. Then she leaned over to whisper in his ear.  
  
"It's been so long since I've hugged a boy my age." She whispered. Matt pulled her away, holding her by the shoulders. He looked astonished. "Don't look so shocked. I'm a social outcast, if you must say. That's not important right now. I still want to know what you saw." She said.  
  
"Fine, since you're so intent on knowing, but I said. I saw myself." He responded.  
  
"Oh Matt, C'mon. What do you mean?" She said.  
  
"I'm dead serious Hotaru. Me from the future came and tried to warn about something. And he also said that I shouldn't let you out of my sight. I think-" Matt shivered. "I think he died. I don't know. He told me to stay alive. I wonder if it really is that hard. I don't exactly want to die." Matt sighed. Hotaru hugged him again.  
  
"So what was that for?" Matt asked.  
  
"It feels nice to hug someone. Anyways, I'm not just about to let you die, so don't you worry about it. I have a feeling we're gonna need each other for this perilous adventure." Hotaru assured him.  
  
"Yah, I suppose your right." Matt said. "C'mon, Shina's for sure going to get on my case for being late, so let's not be even more late. He laughed. Then he began to pull her through the crowds of people. "Matt?" She murmured. He stopped and looked at her. "You promise me that you'll be there for me, okay? And that means no dying on me!" She said. Matt smiled. "Okay." He said, finally, and then they were on there way again. Hotaru was happy. She missed Rini, Michiru, Setsuna, Haruka, and all the Sailor Scouts, but she was glad that she had been sucked into this world. In fact, she wouldn't have chosen to be stuck in this world with any one but him.  
  
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Okay. What I think: I didn't know what to do with this chapter. Like I said, I was just kind of putting everything that popped into my mind down. I'm not even sure about all that's in it. That means I was rambling. I have to read this Chapter myself before I write the next one. Well, next chapter I'll have them set on their adventure. I don't know what to say. I LOVE YOU Matt!!! Okay, but he belongs to Hotaru in this ficcie so I won't steal him. Okay, I kinda feel this chapter is lacking something. Oh well. Good enough I guess. Darn it! This chapter took two settings! The other two only took one. *growls* Well- what did you guys think about it? Please tell me, okay? I guess this chapter is okay. I had fun writing it, but I have fun writing a lot of things. Honest Criticism? Praise? I don't care. I just kinda like reviews. Oh, and Thanks for reviewing on the other chapters! I don't know what I'd do with out your guys. Man I love Winter Break. Party yesterday tired me out, though. Well, see you guys next chapter. NYAAAA!!!! 


	4. Magecraft

This will be another ramble chapter. That's okay, though, because I have a faint idea of what I want to do. Hahahaha! I'm writing this and it's 15 more minutes 'til Christmas! WEEE!!! How wonderful. I'm probably posting it after Christmas but that's when I'm writing it. Well. Thanx again for reviewing guys! Oh yes. Lynn I'm using some of your ideas, okay? I'm sorry it's just that their too good to just let them sit around and never let anyone here them besides you and me. Plus I won't make them TOO obvious. You'll know and probably Sairi will know too. Forgive me. Oh yes, and I MISSED YOU!!! HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME!!! YOU DESERTER!!! Naw, just kidding, but I really did miss you. I'm being weird again and doing the rambling thing. *Huggles Matt* I love you!!  
  
Yes yes, I do not own Digimon or Sailor Moon. But you know that! (I still wish Matt were mine. In fact he IS mine! HUAHAHAHAHA! *Runs off and steals Matt. Then runs around with him like a maniac* Okay, but I'm just kidding and you know it. Okay! To the story! ARGGG!! No! Not to the story! Wahh!! The story is affecting my mind! *Asks herself* and then what happens? NO! NO! NO! *Bangs head on desk* Sorry. Crazy moment. Lynn knows what I'm talking about. Okay, but really, to the story!  
  
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If Darkness Could Befriend Ch. 4: Magecraft  
  
Shina had packed them lots of food and water. She had also given them sleeping bags, and not to mention everything else one needed for outdoor life. That was how it seemed. Matt had commented again on how much Shina seemed to want them gone. Of course, Shina glared at him, the same as usual. Shina really didn't want them to leave, though. She was just excited for them. Hotaru and Matt pondered over how they were to carry it all.  
  
"Um, Shina? How are we gonna carry all this? We can't ride horses over the mountain and that looks like way to much for us to support." Matt reasoned.  
  
"Oh, don't be silly! You NEED all this stuff. You can carry it!" She protested. Matt sighed.  
  
"And HOW are we going to do that?" Matt responded.  
  
"You two always act like siblings. Are you sure that you guys aren't related in some queer distant way?" Hotaru teased. They both stared at her. She just shrugged.  
  
"I don't know. Figure it out! I don't have all the answers. Sheesh, Matt, you're so lazy!" Shina growled.  
  
"Fine, but if I can't find away by sunset then we are NOT taking all that! We simply can't carry it. C'mon Hotaru. I don't know what we're looking for, but I doubt we'll find it." Matt said, holding the door open to her. Hotaru walked out and Matt let the door close, but a split second later it creaked and opened again. Matt poked his head through.  
  
"Oh, and Shina-" Matt said softly.  
  
"What Matt?" Shina growled.  
  
"Good bye." Matt said. Shina opened her mouth to comment, but he had already closed the door. "Good bye, Matt." She said to no one.  
  
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"So Matt? What do you suggest we do?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"I dunno. Search? And don't ask me for what. I don't exactly know. Sorry." Matt replied. "You search on that side of town and I'll search on this side. Okay?" She nodded and began to head off in the direction he had pointed in when he heard him say something.  
  
"Meet back here at sunset, okay?" Matt called. She turned back and nodded.  
  
Matt had walked off and came upon a magic tent. What his older self had said popped into his mind. 'Learn more magic,' he had said. Matt wasn't about to disobey that. He knew he was getting off track, but he didn't know what he was looking for. He walked up to the tent and stepped through the opening.  
  
"How may I serve you, sir?" A lady about twenty asked.  
  
"Hey, could you teach me how to use magic?" He asked. She smiled at him.  
  
"Not many people ask me that. Actually not many people come in here, you know. Most people in town are afraid of magic, save my mother, and she's the town fortuneteller! Gets more business than me, at that!" She said. Matt gawked at her.  
  
"You're the fortuneteller's daughter. I just went to see her today!" Matt said, finally.  
  
"Why didn't you just ask her? And why do you want me to teach you? Most people who come in here already know magic!"  
  
"Well, I didn't think of it then. Anyways, I would have to say why, and Shina would call me crazy again for my reason. Hotaru doesn't think it's silly."  
  
"Aww, Shina's always that way. I used to baby-sit her when I was your age, but that's off the subject. She is a little fireball, isn't she, though? Haha! But you can tell me why!" She reasoned.  
  
"Yah? Okay. Well, my older self appeared to me when I was standing outside. He said it was the only magic he had learned, you know, sending your image into the past. Well he said it would help me to learn more magic, and then he um, kind of, yah-" Matt choked for a second. She stared at him for a second and then she got it.  
  
"Oh, okay. Nothing more said. Well, that spell you used was extremely hard. That must mean you have a lot of magical capability. I don't know to many spells, and in fact, I don't even have enough magical ability to use that yet. Hey! So that means you have more than me! That's not cool! Well, anyways, I can teach you simpler spells than that. I know a whole bunch of simpler spells that I can teach you that are really easy to learn. So how long, exactly do you have?" She asked.  
  
"Sunset." He replied. She gaped at him.  
  
"Sunset! How can you expect me to teach you anything by sunset? Arg! Children! C'mon- what's your name. I don't think you've told me yet!"  
  
"I'm Matt, nice to meet you."  
  
"At least you have manners, I guess. That's a perk. But sunset! Not funny! Not cool! But nice to meet you, Matt. I'm Stacey! Well, c'mon into the back, Matt! We have a lot to do and our time is limited. VERY limited." Stacey called heading through a flap behind her. Matt heard her murmur, 'Sunset? Sunset? Kids! Think everything can be done on the spot!' Matt chuckled a little before following.  
  
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Hotaru had gone through most of that side of town looking for who knows what! How was she supposed to find something when she didn't even know what it was she was looking for! She had gone through weapon stores, jewelry shops, food carts, and clothes stalls! What was it that she was supposed to find and where exactly was she supposed to find it? She sighed at Matt's indecisiveness. But she continues to search for who knows what. She stopped in the same open square her and Matt had been at earlier. She looked around and decided to take a break, sitting at the fountain it the middle. She ran her hands in the water and watched the ripples. Wasn't that how she had gotten here? She stared down at her distorted reflection, but as the ripples faded away she saw it wasn't her. She jumped back in surprise. There, looking back at her was a woman who looked both young and old. Her face was young, but her silver eyes seemed to have seen eons of years. Her hair was long, wavy, and as blue as the sea. She wore a silver gown, embellished with blue flowers. Her long gloves were a grayish blue with silver trim. That was DEFINITELY not Hotaru's reflection. The girl emerged from the water. Hotaru stared in horror. What was this all about?  
  
"You look so afraid. I'm sorry for frightening you. My mother just told us about you and I just had to see. So you're Hotaru? I'm sorry for imposing, but where is your friend, Matt?" The girl asked. Her voice was warm and soft.  
  
"Well, we split up since we're searching for something. Um, I beg your pardon, but who exactly are you and how did you come out of my reflection?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"Oh, I don't like being secretive, but you will find out. I cannot tell you now, but I can help you. Tell me what you are looking for and I might be able to help you." She said.  
  
"Oh, well, I'm not quite sure. I suppose we are looking for some way to store all the stuff that Shina wants us to bring, and trust me there's a lot. I agree with Matt. How did she expect us to carry it all? Sometimes I wonder about her. But she's my friend and I respect her." Hotaru said.  
  
"Yes well, I suppose that is Shina's way. I can help you though." The girl said.  
  
"How? How can you? I just don't understand what we're supposed to be looking for." Hotaru said.  
  
"Well now, I can provide you with this 'what' that you've been searching for. But don't tell anyone about me. We will meet later on, but for now I'll give you that which you seek." She reached for the water and pulled it up a bit of it like it was solid. Then she began to mold it like clay. Hotaru stared at her workings curiously. How was she doing that? Then she held it up into the air and began to chant. It solidified and turned into a silver bag. She handed it over to Hotaru. "There we go! It's a bag that always stays the same on the out side, but the inside grows to be able to hold whatever you put in it. You could even go inside it if you'd like. It's a magic that I posses. It's like if you put a metal object in water it simply pushes the water aside to take space instead of sucking up the water, but no, this bag is not filled with water. Okay, it was nice seeing you, but I must not let my ruins go unprotected. I must go now. Like I said. See you again!" The girl said and she sunk back into the fountain and Hotaru was once again gazing upon her reflection. Hotaru blinked and stared at the bag. She went in and out and in and out. The girl was right. It could fit anything. Well, at least that was how it seemed. She laughed, thinking about the scene Shina would make about this and how Matt had been wrong. Then she thought back to the girl. What had she meant by 'We will meet again?' Hotaru looked up to the sky and sighed. It was a long time 'til sunset. She headed back. Maybe Shina would have something for her to do.  
  
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"So Matt? What kind of magic would you like to learn?" Stacey asked.  
  
"I'm not sure. What types of magic are there?" Matt asked.  
  
"Well, let's start by saying you can learn 4 basic types of magic, 2 medium types of magic, 1 medium type and 2 basic types, or 1 complex type and 1 basic, but remember, complex spells take away most of your strength. It's your choice so go ahead and choose. Then I can help you decide on what type of magic you should learn, okay? So choose." Stacey said. Matt thought for a while. If he chose 4 basic types it wouldn't really help him in a tough battle, but he could use it on everyday basis. If he learned two medium types he wouldn't have anything to use for everyday. If he chose 1 complex and 1 basic, he supposed that would be okay. But then again, 1 medium type and 1 basic would be okay too. He debated over it for five minutes.  
  
"Stacey, give me an example of each, please."  
  
"Okay. Hmm, let me see now. Basic would be like a small fireball, or making a campfire, which takes practically none of your magic away. A medium spell would be like setting a tree on fire, or a large fireball, which takes away a little of your magic. A complex would be like making it rain fire, or setting a whole forest on fire, which takes away almost all your magic." Stacey explained. 'A complex spell may be too much for me too handle. Anyways, for spells like that you have to have a magical spell large enough to undo it and I don't have enough time. Man, I wish I had more time. Okay, I've decided.' Matt thought to himself.  
  
"Okay. I think I'd like to learn 1 medium spell and 2 basics. Sound good?" Matt asked. She nodded. "Okay, so what kind of spell to you think I should learn?"  
  
"I think you should start with that fire spell and then learn a water spell to put it out for your basic spells. For the medium spell, I don't know. Hmm, you seem like an ice person. How about it? Yes, I think an ice spell would be good. But which one should I have you learn? Freeze a person in ice, a beam of ice, or the magic to have Icicles pop up from the ground? I'll have you decide."  
  
"If I learn to freeze something it could break out right? But then Icicles popping up out of the ground would be sudden and surprising. Yet, a beam of ice would be matched by fire, but would be able to freeze something as well, am I right? Hmm. You're making me think too much, Stacey!" Matt sighed.  
  
"I like the way you reason things out Matt. You're not as foolish as I thought! (At that Matt raised his eyebrow) against a fire monster covered it fire your icicles would melt before reaching it and seep back into the ground, whereas with the beam, if you shot it above the ice would melt and land on the fire beast, possibly extinguishing its fire. And against something with armor icicles might not be able to pierce, where as with ice you could encase the whole thing in ice it would be, well, frozen, right? Maybe I'm just biased, but it seemed you needed help deciding and I so gave it to you. It's your decision." Stacey reasoned.  
  
"Yeah, Stacey, I think you're right. Even though it may be more sudden, the ice beam has more advantages. Thanks." Matt agreed.  
  
"So let's get started by seeing how much magic you have." Stacey pushed her finger on Matt's forehead and began to chant. After a few seconds she stopped and gaped at him.  
  
"What?" Matt said, defensively.  
  
"You have a LOT of magic ability! Like as much as the legendary nine maidens that supposedly guard the nine ruins over in Esirnus. That's the place that dark ruler rules over, and NO! I don't know a whole lot on him. That's what everybody asks me about. It's not like I've ever met him before. I don't even know his name! I don't think anyone on this side of the mountains does! I swear! They all think that I'm a fountain of knowledge, but that's getting off the subject now. Anyways you should be able to use your beam spell and outlast most fire monsters, I think. I don't fight very much with magic."  
  
"That's good that I have a lot of magic, and thanks for telling me what the name of that land is. I have to keep a low profile when I go over there. Oh yeah. I've been meaning to ask. If that place across the mountains has a name what is the name of the land on this side and what is the name of the mountain range that divides them?" Matt asked.  
  
"You're crazy!" Stacey exclaimed. "How can you even think about going over there? You'll get slaughtered! SLAUGHTERED!!!"  
  
"Hey, someone's got to stop him right? Otherwise he just might think of crossing the mountains and taking over this place. Which brings me back to my question that I would appreciate and answer for." Matt replied. She gave him a look of, 'you are insane' before answering.  
  
"Okay, this city is called Rean, and the land is called Tesnus and the mountain are called Midday Mountains. Are you satisfied crazy boy? Now let's get to your training. If I can't persuade you I might as well help you so you won't die as soon as you set foot on Midday Mountains." Matt nodded.  
  
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Hotaru had just entered Shina's house. Shina was setting aside what looked to Hotaru to be Shina's whole supply of food. Hotaru sighed at Shina's irrational nature.  
  
"So Shina? Tell me, how do you expect us to carry all the food with out it spoiling after about a week?" Hotaru asked. Shina jumped up in surprise.  
  
"Hotaru! You're not supposed to be back until sunset! What are you doing here?" Shina asked, irritated. Hotaru nodded at the food, signaling that she wanted an answer first. "Oh, about the food? Oh.eheheh. I hadn't thought about that! I guess your right. I ought to just give you money and food that doesn't spoil. Now! What are you doing back so soon?"  
  
"I got something to carry all the stuff you want us to bring." Hotaru said finally.  
  
"Wow! You actually pulled it off! I can't say I'm not surprised. Thank you SOOO much Hotaru! IN MATT'S FACE!! Hahahaha! So how are we gonna pull this off? You haven't told me!"  
  
"Well someone gave me this bag and the inside expands to fit whatever we want to put in it while on the outside it appears not to change its size. Cool huh?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"You're lying! You're kidding right? Prove it!" Shina persisted.  
  
"Fine, I know it's pretty crazy and hard to believe!" Hotaru said. Then she popped into the bag leaving a very confused Shina.  
  
"Hotaru? Hotaru? Where'd you go? I can't find you? Are you in the bag?" Shina called. Hotaru popped out of the bag, surprising Shina again. "Okay! I believe you! Where'd you get it?" Shina said, picking at the bag like it was poisonous. "Is it magic? How'd you get something like this?" She stuck her arm in and out. "This is amazing!" Hotaru laughed.  
  
"I'm not gonna tell you!" Hotaru teased.  
  
"Aww, come on Hotaru! What's the big secret anyways?" Shina asked, but Hotaru just shook her head and smiled.  
  
"Okay, what do you want me to do now? I mean, it's still hours 'til sunset and I'm not sure what to do with myself." Hotaru sighed.  
  
"Well then! Don't just stand there! Help me put all the stuff you should brings in the bag!" Shina said.  
  
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Matt had learned the two basic spells easily. They were no big deal. Stacey had made him go into some sort of room created by magic. She had complained that new magic users were a big risk. They could make a mistake and if they were out with everyone else they could hurt someone. Matt had agreed so she had put him in this weird room with walls that looked like water. He had mastered the two spells in there. It had taken him barely anytime. What took so long was that she made him practice and practice and practice the fire spell. She reasoned that he had to master the fire spell so that he wouldn't forget the words he was supposed to chant. Plus, she had added, if he used it enough then he wouldn't even have to say the spell. In fact he wouldn't even have to concentrate. He just had to will it to be so and it would be. Because of that he agreed, even though she made him use it over and over again. But that wasn't as bad as the water spell. She made him practice the water spell three times as long. No wonder she was so upset about having to teach him by sunset. At the rate they were going he wouldn't even get to learn the ice spell. But, he remained patient and practiced and practiced like she told him. She explained, that water was less dangerous, but could put out fire and that was more important than making fire. If the fire got out of hand he had to be able to put it out. Eventually his patience paid off and she said he was ready to start the ice spell.  
  
"Geez! Finally!" Matt exclaimed. He hadn't even broken a sweat.  
  
"Okay, I know you're anxious, but a clear calm mind might help with this spell." Stacey reasoned. Matt nodded and settled down. She told him to chant a sentence of some old language. He repeated it perfectly, but nothing happened. He sweatdropped.  
  
"Be patient. Those are only the words!" Stacey sighed.  
  
"Yeah, Should have figured. So what does it mean?" Matt asked.  
  
"Hmm, Lemme think. I believe something to the extent of: Cold is thy touch, clear as glass, come to thee in a magical blast. I'm not really a translator. That's it more or less. If you forget the spell you could chant that too, I think." Stacey shrugged. "Okay, now reach deep inside of you and feel for your magic. This is more difficult than those other spells so really concentrate. I want you to hit this." She posted up a card board cut out in front of Matt.  
  
Matt reached inside of him, searching for his magic. Then he felt it, a blue flame. He called it out and chanted the words, but to his dismay nothing happened. He stared at her in disappointment.  
  
"Hey! C'mon! What kind of spirit is that! Try again!" Stacey assured him.  
  
Matt let his confidence increase. Then he closed his eyes in concentration and reached for his magic again. He summoned it out letting it flow through his body. Little did he know that if he could see him self, he'd be surrounded by a glowing blue. Shina smiled. Then Matt chanted the English words, instead of the old magical ones. He felt himself shiver as ice magic ran through his body. Then he subconsciously changed the positions of his hands so that it looked like he was holding a ball, then crystal blue ball of ice magic began to fill in the space in between his hands. Then his eyes snapped open and a magical beam of ice shot from his hands hitting the cut out, knocking a hole in the center, and completely surrounding the blown out card board and the rest of the cut out almost instantly in ice. TheThen he stopped the spell and sat down. He had suddenly became very tired.  
  
"Don't worry, the first medium spell is the hardest. You'll get used to it. That was perfect, Matt. I think you used, um let's just say, a little too much magic. Maybe. Don't you think?" She said, holding up the portion he had blown out and trying to fit it back into the hole he had made through the cut out's torso.  
  
"Oops. Sorry sir." Matt said playfully to the cutout. Then he stood up. "Okay, I think I can practice a few times before sunset. Am I right?" Matt asked.  
  
"Are you sure Matt? You look a bit tired to me. You shouldn't push yourself. That was your first try anyways." She argued.  
  
"Aww, bring it on Stace! I can handle it!" Matt said enthusiastically.  
  
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So how did you guys like it? I know, I know. I lied. I LIED! I didn't make them set out this chapter. Next chapter! I PROMISE!!! PROMISE! I mean it. They will set out next chapter. I even think I know what I'm gonna do with the next chapter. So? Don't you guys want to learn magic? I know I want to! Stacey! Teach me magic! *Cries* Okay, sorry. Anyhoo Please review! I like your comments. And next chapter probably won't be so random and full of ramble. Like I said, I think I know what I'm gonna do in that chapter. See ya'll next chapter, I hope. ^_^ 


	5. Embarking

BWUAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!!! Hello! I'm starting this on New Years! Well anyways.THANK YOU SAIRI!!! I wouldn't have figured it out myself. You know, the ... thing. Brilliance! BRILLIANCE I SAY!!! Or maybe I'm just lacking in that area...but if I'm lacking in that area and I'm lacking in athletics what am I good at? *Sighs* Whatever. And don't say I'm smart cuz of my school. I just passed a test. With studying I'm sure anyone could pass it. Actually it depends on how much you study. So anyway, this story has sort of lost its charisma to me so I was thinking that if I wrote this chapter I would get more into it. Hey, it's a thought. I've been having a lot of ideas for new story plots lately that I'll probably never post, but they're new so they are distracting me. But don't worry, as long as I know people read this fic then I'll continue until I lose totally all interest. Don't worry. I have this chapter pretty planned out. Oh yeah, and thank you so much to all of you that reviewed. Where would I be without you? I hope this chapter will restore my interest in writing this. Okay! Hehe...Don't get angry cuz my story doesn't make too much sense. And DON'T jump to conclusions. Jumping to conclusions only makes a mess of things. You may be right and you may be wrong. You'll just have to wait and read. Well you don't have to but it's always kinda nice to see the ending of something. Well, not really, cuz if it's good you want it to continue, but that's not the case with my story so forget I said that...hehehe. I know this story may seem easy to figure out, but we will see. The imagination is quite a weird thing. Oh yesh...Black had like a lot of chances to kill us. We were very dumb to go into his house. Next time I don't think we'll be let off that easy. *Sighs* Well, half of you probably don't know what I mean by that...remember, save your digital watches and little pink fairies. You never knoe when they may come in handy. O.o;;; Let's get to business.  
  
I definitely do not own Digimon or Sailor Moon. I sure wish I did. *Stares at Matt's picture* OOOHHHH So fine. *Gazes with pure love* Umm...okay. Well, I don't own him, but who says I can't own pictures of him? BWAHAHAHAHA!! Watch out for Mint's jump kicks. They hurt. (Okay ;; that was kinda sorta random. Eheheh) Okay, now I'm really gonna start. Sorry for the wasting yer time.  
  
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If Darkness Could Befriend (A/N: Gaaah! I hate that title, but I force myself to bear with it... *Sighs*) Ch. 5: Embarking  
  
"Please, Stacey, you're going to kill me at this rate! I should have never said I was ready to try again." Matt sighed.  
  
"Matt, you've only tried 5 times." Stacey reasoned. She heard him mutter 'only?' She sighed. "Yes Matt, only! Anyways, it'll only take one more try and then it'll almost be sun down time." Matt sighed and did the spell one more time to keep her satisfied.  
  
"Happy?" Matt sighed. She nodded. "Oh, yeah, and Stacey. Thank you so much. You may be a slave driver and I'm glad it's over, but I'm happy that I can at least protect myself this way." She smiled. He gave her a friendly hug and began to head out the door.  
  
"Wait Matt! Hey, c'mon suicidal boy, I have something to give you!" Stacey shouted, pulling Matt back in.  
  
"Don't call me suicidal boy, please?" Matt sighed. "I'm not suicidal, your mom told me to go over those mountains!"  
  
"Well, my mom can be very weird. She must be mad, sending little boys to their death in Esirnus. Well c'mon my little mage!" Stacey called. Matt shrugged it off and followed her out of the magic room and into the main store.  
  
"What do you want me to see? This looks like the shop I walked into a few hours ago." His patience had been worn down to a thread after all Stacey's 'practice.'  
  
"Don't worry, your not going crazy, it's the same shop you walked in some hours ago, yes. You can be quite a numbskull you know. Anyways...I wanted to give you something. Well, a few somethings." She assured him. She scanned the shelves and grabbed something quickly. "Close your eyes and hold out your hands." She commanded. Matt did so. After a few minutes she told him to open his eyes. He opened his eyes anxiously.  
  
"Wow...thank you so much Stacey." Matt said impatiently, voice brimming with sarcasm. He held out his hands to her, revealing nothing. "You know, I don't think I'll ever, ever understand you, Stacey. You've got to be one of the oddest people I know. Okay. Bye. I'm going now." Stacey froze his feet to the ground. (A/N: Gaaah! Too much freezing feet to ground. I did that a few time to day. Well, sort of.)  
  
"Matt, I wouldn't really do that. Well, I sorta of did, but, um, yah. Stay here. Don't leave yet. I really have to give you something so just stay here!" Stacey pleaded. Matt had already unfroze his feet with the fireball spell. He sighed and stayed put.  
  
"Okay, now, close your eyes and hold out your hands." Stacey commanded once again. Matt shot her a reluctant glare before following her orders. After a few seconds she told him to open his eyes. Matt looked down at his hands and began to walk to the entrance. Stacey was cracking up. Then she made Matt poof over next to her. Matt shot her a fierce glare and began to walk away again.  
  
"I'm so sorry Matt. I'll give it to you! I promise!" She begged. Matt rolled his eyes and walked back over.  
  
"Okay, now close your eyes and hold out your hands." She commanded again. Matt glared at her.  
  
"Do you think I'm that dumb? I'm not that bad of a loser! Give it to me now if you really have something to give me or I'm out the door." Matt growled.  
  
"Gee, Matt. You're so mean. I was just having fun. I promise I'll give it to you this time! I promise!" Stacey reasoned in her most innocent tone.  
  
"Right. I'm sure." Matt said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Please! I'm serious!"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Please!!!!!"  
  
"NO!!!"  
  
"Pretty pretty please! It's for your own good!"  
  
"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Matt shouted. He could hear the echo.  
  
"Gee Matt. I never realized how absolutely mean you were." Stacey sniffled, eyes downcast. Matt stared wide-eyed at her as she began to sniffle some more. He began to start feeling really guilty.  
  
"No, no! Don't feel bad. I'm so sorry. I was just sort of cranky, I guess. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to shout." He assured her desperately. She smiled at him.  
  
"Yeah, you do seem cranky. Poor baby needs his nap!" Stacey giggled, perfectly back to normal.  
  
"You are one immature adult. Do you realize that? You act less mature than my little bro, T.K." He sighed.  
  
"Is that so? Well, close your hands and hold out your eyes already!" Matt began to crack up.  
  
"Wait...I said that wrong didn't I." She winced. Matt continued to laugh hysterically. Stacey sighed. "Whatever Matt. You know what I meant!"  
  
"But Stacey, I can't take out my eyes!" Matt bursted out and began to laugh again. Stacey glared at him. Then she walked over and poked his eyes.  
  
"Ouch!" Matt shouted, shutting his eyes. Then she grabbed his hands and pulled them toward her. He felt her put something in them. His eyes slowly, painfully opened and he looked down at his hands. There, sitting on them were four little bottles. Two of them were green and two of them were red.  
  
"I'm glad you made it back from giggle land, Matt." Stacey growled.  
  
"You killed my eyes! What were you trying to do? Poke them out?" Matt whined.  
  
"No. I was trying to get you to shut up and I was trying to close your eyes. Anyways, what those things do are-"  
  
"Yeah, I know. Or at least, I'm pretty sure I know. I think the red ones are for healing and the green ones are for regaining magic." He interrupted.  
  
"Wow! How did you know?" Stacey said, astonished.  
  
"Hey, what can I say? I play the game Zelda." Matt shrugged. (A/N: I don't own Zelda either...Link is such a cute child and a cool adult. That's off the subject. Read the manga! It's good for you!! Link's so cute there. Any hoo, there's a hot guy in the seasons manga. But it's not cool how he disses Link. I wonder what his name is.)  
  
"Zel- da? What is this Zel- da you speak of?" Stacey prodded curiously.  
  
"A video game." Matt replied. Then it struck him that these people were technologically challenged.  
  
"Vee- dee- oooh gaaee- maa? What's that?" Stacey asked.  
  
"Nothing, never mind. More advanced technology. Eheheh. Sorry for mentioning it." Matt assured her. She shot Matt a confused look but then just gave him a hug.  
  
"Bye little crazy mage! You better not get killed. If you get killed I'll bring you back to life and make you sorry!" Matt decided not to remind her of his older self.  
  
"Bye you crazy old witch!" Matt shouted and dashed out the door. She chased after him in fury.  
  
"What the hell do you mean bye OLD!! I am NOT old!" Stacey screeched. Matt made it outside laughing. Then he turned around to face her.  
  
"See ya Stacey! I hope I won't die so I can see you again. I'll learn more magic! Then maybe someday I'll be better than you!" He said.  
  
"In you dreams! But you better come back!" She shouted to Matt.  
  
"I can't promise that! What if I live and get zapped back home? Then I won't be able to keep it!" Matt argued.  
  
"Whatever. Just don't die, okay? Oh yeah, bye. And good luck! It may be suicide but oh well. I have some confidence in you. It may not be much but-" She joked. Matt sighed.  
  
"Bye, Stacey..." Matt sighed.  
  
"Bye Matt." She chimed. Then Matt waved and turned around to head back to Shina's. For a second he looked at the sky. 'There was always something sad about a sunset,' he thought to himself while watching the sky darken as the sun faded away.  
  
(A/N: Dialogue takes up a lot! Okay. I have to write bigger paragraphs. This'll probly be my longest chapter yet. I still have a lot planned for this chapter. Whoohoo! I hope it gets to be like ten pages! That's my goal! Ten pages. I hope I reach it...or go beyond it. Wow! I can't believe the first section already took up 3 pages on word! Kay, now for division thingee!)  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~ "Oh my god Matt! Where the hell have you been?" Shina growled.  
  
"Magician's shop. Hey, what happened to all the stuff? Did you finally come to your senses and put it all back?" Matt said, looking around. He noticed the ground was clear of clutter. All that was there was a little bag in the middle of the room. He looked up at Hotaru's and Shina's faces and quickly noted the silly little grins the had smacked across them. He stared at them suspiciously. "What? I know you guys are hiding something!" Matt sighed. He was very impatient now. He had just been overworked and then had his brain messed around with. He wasn't at all happy. "You know what, can we talk about this later. I know you guys wanted us to set out today, but I'm really tired. I mean, like really tired. Can I go to sleep? It won't hurt us too much to get a little shut-eye before departing, right?" He let out a big yawn.  
  
"But, Matt. We already packed up all the stuff in your room." Shina giggled.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Matt asked nervously. Shina had that look in her eye that showed she was about to get Matt, in some way or other. Matt sighed and thought, 'She's like the sister I never had and never wanted.'  
  
"Yah, Matt. We kind of did pack up all the stuff in that room. The pillows, the sheets, the table. Matt stared at them with a look that said, 'What are you guys hinting at?' "Okay, I'm serious. I'm really tired so could you please get to the point.  
  
"We are at the point Matt! We packed up your stuff!" Shina laughed.  
  
"And where did you pack it up? In the closet or something?" Matt growled.  
  
"No! We packed it up in this!" Shina said, picking up the bag and shoving it in Matt's face. Matt gave her a, 'You have got to be kidding,' look. Shina snickered.  
  
"I'm dead serious, Matt!" She smirked.  
  
"Stop kidding around, Shina! Hotaru? What's the truth?"  
  
"That is the truth." Matt stared at her, freaked out.  
  
"You know what. I must be hearing things. I'm just gonna sit down in this corner and fall asleep." And he did just what he said.  
  
"Matt?" Hotaru called. "Matt? Are you awake?"  
  
"Maybe he's dead! Let's poke him with a stick!" Shina joked. Hotaru laughed. "Let's not, Shina. It would sort of be funny though. But I can tell he's tired. Let him get some sleep. I know it's kind of early to fall asleep, but oh well. He's right. We'll probably need the rest. I guess I'll head in too. Good thing we didn't pack up my room." Then Hotaru began to walk up the stairs.  
  
"Aww! C'mon! You'll miss dinner! You two need to eat well for tomorrow!" Shina argued.  
  
"Big breakfast please!" Hotaru chimed. Shina sighed.  
  
"I guess all aliens are bums." She muttered to herself as Hotaru left her view. She stared at Matt. "Especially guy aliens!" She snickered.  
  
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Matt yawned and stretched out. His back was so sore. A little voice in his head was yelling, 'you numbskull! Never sleep in a corner again!' Matt sighed as he stood up. He felt fully rested but he hadn't exactly woke up very comfortably. He went into the kitchen and found Shina's mom cooking. It smelled like eggs. He walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder.  
  
"Would you like me to cook them? I can cook and you can do something else." He offered.  
  
"What? Wow! You're up early! What was that? You want to cook? You can cook?!!! Wow! My husband doesn't know how to cook! Okay! Go ahead! Well, this is certainly new!" She laughed and walked out. Matt sat there and decided upon how to make them. Scrambled was easy enough. He didn't want to over do it. He knew how to cook a lot of other things, but scrambled would do. His ability of cooking had come from living with a dad who possessed practically zero cooking skills. Matt had to learn to cook or live with eating out for the rest of his childhood. Matt had grown pretty good at it, unlike most guys his age, who could only boil water. He began to cook the eggs.  
  
Just as Matt finished He heard loud thundering coming from the stairs. He peeked his head around the corner where Shina's mom was setting the table. He looked up to the stairs and saw Shina and Hotaru dash down them.  
  
"Where is Matt, Mom? He's not in his room. I figured he would have been so uncomfortable that he would have moved back up there. After all, we were just kidding when we said we packed it all up. We only packed the table, not the bed!" Shina bursted out.  
  
"He's cooking." Her mother told her plainly.  
  
"Cooking?" Shina sounded very reluctant. "Don't kid me! Guys just don't cook."  
  
"On the contrary, Shina! Some guys can cook, you know. It's not like girls are the only ones who can handle pans and ovens." He argued, balancing some plates as he walked out of the kitchen. Shina's jaw dropped. Even Hotaru looked slightly surprised.  
  
"It looks very good, Matt." Hotaru said. He had cooked a lot! She was surprised. But then again, they had skipped dinner. Matt had probably remembered that.  
  
"Yeah, well, I bet it tastes horrible." Shina pouted. Matt sighed. "You can decide that for yourself. It seems standable to me." Matt sighed. He set the plates down.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure." Shina said, as she and Hotaru sat down. She ate a bite. And began to shovel it into her mouth.  
  
"...Pig." Matt muttered. Shina glared at Matt, already half finished. Matt looked at Hotaru's plate and noted she was already a fourth done. "Wow, Is it just me or are you guys eating awfully fast?"  
  
"Ipph Good Maautt!" Shina said, mouth full. Hotaru winced at her lack of manners.  
  
"You shouldn't talk with your mouth full Shina." Hotaru reasoned.  
  
"Who cares...it's really good Matt. I'm surprised but I'm wrong." She said, swallowing her last bite. Matt and Hotaru sighed. Soon Hotaru finished and then after a while Matt.  
  
"So what were you too rambling on about last night? That was one weird joke." Matt said suddenly after he finished.  
  
"Well, Matt we aren't joking. I found a way to carry all that stuff while I was out. I still don't know what you were doing, but I was given a bag that can hold practically anything. I'm dead serious so please don't look at me that way." Hotaru said. Matt wiped the reluctant look off his face. "So what were you doing, huh? I mean, we were out for hours! Were you just wandering around aimlessly?" She asked.  
  
"I was just learning stuff." Matt answered.  
  
"Stuff? What sort of stuff?" Shina pried. "Magic stuff." Matt muttered.  
  
"Magic? From who, Stacey?" Shina prodded. She noticed Matt nod wearily. "HAHAHAHAHA! That woman's a slave driver! She tried to teach me magic and I couldn't learn. I was to lazy and she got impatient with my constant complaining." She laughed. "So that's why you were so tired. Magic too much for you?" She mocked. Matt glared at her and she blinked as she noticed him mutter something under his breath and do some quick motions with his hands. All of a sudden she felt like someone had dropped a bucket of water on her. Her hair and dress were sopping wet.  
  
"MATT!!! I'M SOOOO GONNA KILL YOU!!!!!!" She screeched. Hotaru was laughing almost silently, but still received a glare from Shina. Hotaru watched as Shina chased Matt around and around the table.  
  
"You too are hopeless." She sighed. All of a sudden Matt stopped and stepped to the side, allowing Shina to breeze past him. Then he grabbed the back of her collar and stopped her before she crashed face first into the wall. Matt was still laughing at her, but it quickly died down as Shina made a swing for his face with her fist. Matt caught it. Grabbed her other hand and let her calm down.  
  
"Sorry Shina. I was just proving you wrong." He chuckled. She glared at him and muttered a few words under her breathe. Matt decided he was for the better not hearing them. "So ladies." Matt said, changing the subject. "Can I get an example of this miracle bag? I don't think I can believe it until I see it with my own eyes." Hotaru smiled and nodded. Then she reached her hand into the bag, showing him her whole arm could go in it. Matt stared at it in excitement and suddenly bursted out, "THAT'S SOOOOOO COOL!!!!! LEMME TRY!! LEMME TRY!!!!" Hotaru laughed and handed it over. Matt grabbed it and stuck his arm in and out and in and out. Then all of a sudden he vanished within it. Shina and Hotaru sweatdropped at Matt and waited. They heard from the inside, 'this goes here and this goes here! Hey! The food should all be in one place! This can be for sleeping supplies. Wow! That's a lot of Copper Coins! I'll put them in this drawer!' and other phrases not so different from those. Then, after about thirty minutes Matt popped out. "There! Done! Now we can grab thing out easily!" Matt said. He looked at Hotaru then at Shina. They had plopped down to the ground in boredom. "...I'm done, guys." Matt sighed. He noticed their face perk up and they stood up.  
  
"Are you guys gonna leave on your adventure now? Are you? Are you?" Shina bubbled.  
  
"Wow. I feel so unwanted. Okay, then I guess we'll leave now." Matt said droopily.  
  
"YAAAAY!! Matt's leaving! My life is easier. I'll miss you Hotaru!" Shina teased. Matt sighed. "I'm just kidding Matt and you know it!"  
  
"Yeah, I know! Do you really want us to leave now, though?" Matt responded.  
  
"Well, no. Actually I want to go with you. Please, Please, Please, Please, Please, Pretty, Pretty PLEASE!!!" Shina begged. Matt looked hesitantly at the older girl and sighed.  
  
"You can't go. You'll likely get yourself killed." Matt said demandingly.  
  
"Matt! Please! I sell weapons! I know how to use them! I'm not a baby! I'm older than you! I demand you to let me go!" She pouted.  
  
"Look, it's for your own good. Your parents would never let you go, and anyways, I don't like you throwing yourself into danger! Okay? It's just better for you. Anyways, you have a job here, and Rean Village is your home. Are you willing to throw that away? Possibly never see your family ever again? Anyways, you shouldn't risk your life for something you don't have to do." Matt said sternly. For that millisecond he sounded really mature. 'I guess underneath he can be more serious than I thought, but I won't give up!' Shina said to herself.  
  
"No way Matt! I'm coming! I'm so coming. I can handle myself. Anyways, it's dangerous for Hotaru to go and you're letting her!" Shina argued.  
  
"If she didn't have to go I wouldn't let her. I really don't want you to go. I have a bad feeling about you going." Matt sighed.  
  
"What? I'm not gonna die!" She growled.  
  
"Stay here. Please. What if we..." He choked for a second. "What if we die or something? I don't like the thought of Hotaru going either, but she has too. And what if once this is all over we suddenly get beamed back to our world? What'll you do then? Wander aimlessly for the rest of your life, never seeing Tesnus again?" Matt said, genuinely concerned. Shina sighed. Matt seemed unable to be swayed. "Please. I'm begging you. Shina. Please stay here."  
  
"You really don't want me to go, do you Matt?" Shina sighed, beaten. "Okay then, I'll respect that. I'm sorry about your decision, but if that's how you really feel then I won't go. I never knew you could act like that Matt. You can be so different."  
  
"Yea, well, I'm sure you're serious sometimes too. I guess we should go now." Matt said. She nodded, eyes downcast.  
  
"Well, aren't you gonna say goodbye? Or are you too much of a softy to accept that you can't come?" Matt teased. She smiled at him.  
  
"I'll miss you Matt! Hey, I just noticed, you haven't let go of the bag yet." She pointed out.  
  
"MY BAG!!!" Matt said jokingly. Shina smiled and hugged him.  
  
"I'll miss you and your dumbness. I hope I see you again." She smiled.  
  
"Yea, well same to you! I sort of wish you could come, but I won't let you. I'm confusing myself!" Matt sighed. Then he topped hugging her back and said goodbye again.  
  
"I feel forgotten." Hotaru sighed.  
  
"Oh, well I'll miss you too! Don't think I won't. You're more sane than Matt. I know Matt for sure." She giggled. Matt scowled. "But really! I'll miss you both. This was like the highlight of my life and now you guys are leaving." She sighed.  
  
"Yea, well, I'll miss you too." Matt and Hotaru said in unison.  
  
"Aww, you too are just so cute together!" Shina chimed. Matt and Hotaru began to blush furiously. "Okay! You two got to go now! Best get a fresh start, you know! You guys ought to leave before I change my mind about going with you!" She said. Matt smiled at her and him and Hotaru walked out the door. As soon as they were out Hotaru noted Matt's smile had disappeared. They continued to walk towards Midday Mountains. It was a good thing it was right outside of Rean.  
  
"I may never see her again." Matt said sadly, and then he smiled at her. "Okay, I'll try my best to complete this journey! I'll make her proud of me! Just so long as you stick with me, okay?" She nodded.  
  
"Matt...do you think what she said was true?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"I dunno. I think you're cute, if that helps." Matt said truthfully. She began to blush. "And not to mention sweet." He added smiling.  
  
"Well, I think that you're cute too. I bet all the girls chase you." She shot back, stilling blushing. She laughed as she observed Matt's cheeks immediately turn a deep scarlet.  
  
"Hotaru. Could you ever like me like that?" Matt asked, cheeks crimson now.  
  
"Yes, Matt." She said, smiling playfully. Secretly, ever since he had caught her eye she had been fallen for him. She didn't know why. She supposed at first it was his looks at first. (A/N: BWUAHAHAHA! Matt is HOT! Sorry) His odd joking way, while still being cool. Maybe it was because he had saved her? But what if he was just toying with her. Maybe he just didn't want her to feel bad. She sighed. What if he didn't like her at all? Shina was her friends and she would miss her a lot but to tell the truth, she was slightly jealous at how easily Shina had established a friendship with him. Well, that was okay. She was happy to be on this little adventure with him. She'd see if she really was willing to have so much feeling for Matt. After all, she had just met him a couple of days ago. They walked in silence and soon they were at the foot of Midday Mountains.  
  
"One more step and we're out of Tesnus." Matt said, sadly. He took one step and pulled her forward. "Look how convenient!" Matt laughed. The mountains parted revealing a valley. "We ought to be able to get through this!" Matt said happily. She nodded. It was still bright daylight.  
  
"But one thing Matt! That's a forest. What if we get lost or something?" Hotaru sighed.  
  
"I dunno. Well, we sort of have no choice." Matt answered, being truthful. She agreed and they began to walk into the forest.  
  
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They had been traveling for what seemed to Matt like forever. He figured if they kept walking in a straight line they would have to make it out eventually. He had let Hotaru lead the way. The scenery had barely changed at all. Trees, trees, trees, and what do you know? Trees! But he wasn't really bothered be that. He didn't like Midday Mountains. They had an awkward feeling about them. The farther they got away from Tesnus the more it grew. Matt looked at the watch he had on his arm. It read four. They had been traveling for four hours. Of course they had taken breaks but.... Matt sighed. He really didn't care for going to this weird land. The prophecy wasn't even clear! Genai had provided more information than what he had heard about what he must do here. He didn't even know how he was supposed to do it. What if this was really some sort of wild goose chase? They continued to walk. He fingered the bag. Hotaru had let him keep it after not being able to pry it from his fingers.  
  
"Matt? Can I take a break?" Hotaru suddenly said. Matt nodded and plopped down on a rock. Hotaru sat besides him. "I don't like these mountains. They're eerie. I keep getting the feeling like we're walking closer and closer to peril, which I know we are, but I don't like that feeling."  
  
"Yeah, I know. It's sort of weird." Matt sighed. "Wait Hotaru. I have to see if the inside of the bag got unorganized." Matt said. Then he was gone. He sighed. Nothing was too out of order. He began to organize things a little better. He stayed inside for about 15 minutes while Hotaru took a short nap. Then, all of a sudden he got a bad feeling. Out of the blue the bag began to sway. He felt the bag rock. He heard muffled talking. He pressed his ear to the side of the bag and heard dialogue.  
  
"Hah, what a dumb girl, leaving her bag out like that and falling asleep. It was like taking candy from a baby." He heard someone say.  
  
"I wonder where that guy went though. Do you think he saw us take it? It doesn't seem likely that one person would leave their friend alone here. You know, with all the monsters and stuff. She could easily get eaten or snatched up." Matt heard him say. Matt suddenly felt his insides churn. He was leaving Hotaru alone. Sure, she could handle herself, but he didn't like it. He looked up at the opening of the bag and cursed. He figured the guy was holding it closed. He clenched his fists in frustration. There he sat, and time seemed to freeze up leaving Matt to in his worry for eternity. But then, after about ten minutes, Matt finally felt the bag lurch to a stop.  
  
"Look what I snatched up. Apparently the girl didn't care to much for it cuz she just left it sitting there." He chortled.  
  
"There's probably CCs in it, don't you think boss?" He heard a new voice ask.  
  
"Yes. That's why I grabbed it dimwit." He heard the man holding the bag say. So he was the leader? Matt sat there and pondered. Then he felt the bag drop downward and land on a flat surface, which Matt assumed to be the ground. What was he going to do? What if they had weapons? Whatever. He'd just wing it! Matt popped out of the bag.  
  
"Bring me back right now!" He said, holding out his sword blade to their leaders neck. Of course, he had no plan of killing the guy. That was just heartless. "Drop all your weapons now or I'll hack of his head." Matt growled. He thought about it and grew slightly sick picturing it. 'Okay, Matt, why are you thinking this stuff?' He asked himself.  
  
"Do it you fool!" Their boss commanded. They all dropped their knives and guns. Matt was glad he had done it now. There was no way he wanted to be shot, or stabbed for that matter.  
  
You too, do you think I'm stupid? I know you're not defenseless!" Matt growled. Their leader glared at him and pulled out a sword.  
  
"You wouldn't kill me. You're too soft. Fight me like a man." The guy mocked. Matt backed up.  
  
"F-Fine!" Matt said, trying to sound confident. He had never battled with a sword before. Then he leapt forward and met the guy's sword head on. The guy laughed at him. Then, out of nowhere Matt shot a fireball in the guys face with his other hands. The guy stumbled back. Matt kicked him in the stomach, causing him to be winded. Then he hit the guy with the sword hilt, knocking him unconscious. "That was way too easy!" Matt laughed. "C'mon, no weapons, I'll take you all one at a time." Matt laughed, his fighting side coming out. It had been a while, but the part of Matt that fist fought with Tai was back with a bang. They all stared at him and then all of them poured at him at once.  
  
"Great!" Matt mumbled. "I said one at a time."  
  
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Hotaru woke up to someone shaking her awake. She opened one eyes a crack. A pair of blue eyes peered at her. She rubbed her eyes and sat up.  
  
"What is it Matt?" She said hoarsely.  
  
"Matt? Who's Matt?" She heard a new guy's voice say. She opened her eyes in surprise. There, before her stood a guy around her age. He had spiky black hair and blue eyes, like Matt. He was wearing all black except for a cape, which was dark blue. Hotaru actually found him sort of cute, but Matt was better looking. (A/N: I did that to spite someone. HAHAHAHAHAHA! Okay. That will be enough of that. ^_^ Anyways, this dude is nicer than the guy I mean to smite. )  
  
"W-Who are you? Where's Matt?" She asked scanning around, finding no sign of him.  
  
"I'm Kive. I don't know where your Matt is but I think he ditched you in your sleep. You shouldn't sleep here though." Kive said. "It's dangerous. Do you want to go to Tesnus with me?"  
  
"I-I can't. And I can't leave Matt! I need to find him! And soon!" She cried.  
  
"Gee, calm down. I'll help you." Kive sighed. "I don't even know your name."  
  
"My name's Hotaru. Look for a boy about my age. Meet back here in half an hour. Oh, and thank you Kive." She said, flashing him a smile before racing off.  
  
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Matt had taken them all. (A/N he beat them all up while Kive met Hotaru and searched for him) All he had to do was bonk every single one of them on the head and they were knocked out. Simple as pi, 3.1415. He dusted his hands off. He hoped that was the last of them. He scooped the bag. And began to head back when he noted a pair of icy eyes staring at him. Matt sighed. He'd missed one.  
  
"Hey you. I don't want to fight so could you just go away." Matt sighed.  
  
"What the heck did you do? Did you knock out all these people? Who the hell are you?" Kive said, coldly.  
  
"You don't need to know." Matt sighed and began to walk past him when Kive pulled out a sword and held it in Matt's way. "Gee, can I define, 'I don't want to fight?'" Matt sighed.  
  
"Sorry, but you seem like a thief if I've ever seen one." Kive growled.  
  
"Me? The thief? Yea right! You are the one who's got to be the thief." Matt laughed.  
  
"Yea right. Only a thief would knock out a group of that size for no apparent reason!"  
  
"I had a reason!" Matt argued.  
  
"Yah. Right. And what was it? To rob them? Huh?" Kive challenged. Matt sighed.  
  
"Okay, I see now. You're a thief and you're trying to trick me into thinking that you are not. Well, it doesn't matter." Matt said shrugging him off and then began to walk around him.  
  
"Nuh-uh! Battle me, thief." Kive snarled.  
  
"You are so stupid. How many times must I say it? I'm not a thief! And, I don't want to battle! I can't stress that enough. Now let me through." Matt said, starting to get irritated. Kive held his ground. "Fine, whatever." Matt sighed. This guy seemed pretty dumb. Him being a thief? What an idea. He had to thief! Matt drew his sword, shaking his head.  
  
"I'm gonna knock you out." Matt told him.  
  
"No! I'm gonna knock you out!" Kive said lunging at him with his sword. Matt blocked it and jumped back. They circled for a bit. Matt searched for a weak spot. A flaw. His adrenaline was pumping. He'd just have to try to wing it again. It worked last time. Then Matt dived in, making a side swing hilt towards Kive's head. Kive dodged it and swung his sword at Matt. Matt stepped back, easily dodging that. Matt then tried once again to knock out Kive, but Kive swung his sword head to head. The pushed back and forth, but Matt started to win. Matt had been putting too much force on the sword and he stumbled after Kive's push was removed. Kive then swung the dull side down at Matt's head, but Matt recovered quick enough to block it. Kive tried swinging his sword at Matt again, but Matt blocked it. 'Wow' Matt sighed to himself, heart beating fast. 'My first actual sword fight.'  
  
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Hotaru had been looking around for a while. Where had Matt gone? She sighed and continued to search finding no sign of Matt or Kive. Then she heard the clanks of sword battle. 'Now what could that be?' She asked herself. She raced towards where the sounds were coming from. They grew louder and louder until she finally came unto a clearing. She saw about eight men, lying on the ground out cold and there, on the opposite side of the clearing of her was Matt and Kive. Matt had gained some ground since the start of their fight. Little beads of sweat dotted both their foreheads. They seemed absorbed in the fight, not acknowledging her presence. Right now Matt was on offense and Kive was on defense.  
  
"Matt!" She called out. Matt stopped and lowered his sword, turning his head towards Hotaru, but Kive didn't seem to notice her. He was in mid swing and he landed the hilt smack on Matt's head.  
  
"Ow! That hurt!" Matt shouted at him, rubbing his head. He backed up and then looked back at Hotaru. "Leave me alone! I'm trying to talk to my friend, here! Yeah Hotaru?" He asked.  
  
"Umm, Matt, your opponent is Kive. Kive, the person you just nailed on the head is Matt." She sighed. "Now we can all be friends!"  
  
"I thought you were a thief!" Kive and Matt rang out in unison.  
  
"Sorry, Kive. No hard feelings." Matt apologized reluctantly.  
  
"Whatever." Kive growled, glaring at him. "Hey Hotaru, let's go. He's not good enough for you. He couldn't even protect you. He went off and ditched you to beat up a group of random people," Kive said coldly, walking over and grabbing her hand and pulling her off.  
  
"Hey! What do you think you're doing? She's traveling with me! You can't just take off with her!" Matt snarled angrily.  
  
"Yeah, Kive. Matt and I are traveling together. If you want to go with us you have to consult with him too." She pointed out.  
  
"I don't like reasoning with morons..." Kive groaned. Matt glared at him.  
  
"Well, we can discuss it when we get to a safe place to camp. I don't want to be awake when these guys wake up, whoever they are. Let's go find a camp. Then you guys can explain to me about what happened and we can plan things out. Sound good?" She sighed. They both nodded, but they continued to glare at each other all the way along.  
  
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*Sighs* Yeah, I'm not that good at writing swordfights, I know. Lynn's so much better than myself. So how did you guy like this one? My mom kept yelling at me to bet off the comp. and that's why it took so long. Also it's because this is the longest chapter yet. On word it's 11 pages while most of the others are like 5-6 (save the first one, that one was 2). I based Kive on a character I think is cool, but is a jerk. He's nicer to everyone but Matt. He's also slightly dumber...well; actually I'm not quite sure. Eheheh. Well I hate my parents. They try to inspire me to write and 'expand my talents' but when I start and people actually think it's okay they try to keep me from typing. It's weird. Also, school will get in the way, but I'll try to post once a week. Okay, gtg. Bye. *Sighs* It's my parents. Please R+R!!!! ^_^ 


	6. Intro to the dark

*Drools* my best best friend sent me a wonderful e-mail. Guess what was in it! Matt pictures!!! *Drools muttering, 'super finess...'* Okay sorry. So do you like my character-based dude? I hope so! He's cooler than the guy I based him on. *Mocks dude I based him on* you are a loser and he...well; he's not as much of a loser as you! HUAHHAHAHAHAHA! A little more confused than you, but that's beside the point. ...Well actually he's meaner to Matt in a way. Actually I'm not sure! What do you guys think? Is this guy meaner? Well, we'll see. He could get meaner or nicer. He certainly is nice to Hotaru, but well. Same thing. Okay, I'll cut the ramble short this time.  
  
Ah, we can't forget the annoying part...I don't own Digimon or Sailor Moon.  
  
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If Darkness Could Befriend Ch. 6: Intro to the Dark  
  
"Let's run off and ditch him." Kive said loudly to Hotaru.  
  
"Excuse me? We bare know you!!! You can't just do that!" Matt growled. He was tempted to sock the guy in the face.  
  
"No Kive. I can't do that! I'm not gonna ditch Matt." Hotaru sighed.  
  
Matt was really starting to get annoyed with this loser. He was also quite angry with him because of how he kept being so nice to Hotaru and treating him like trash. He admitted it! He was slightly jealous! They had met this guy out of nowhere and he kept on trying to take away his best friend.  
  
"Why? This guys a loser." Kive protested.  
  
"Look, Kive. I'm tired of you constantly dissing me! You can't just pop in and take her away. We don't even know you! You know what! I'm just about ready to give you the slip. And you know what? Hotaru and I have to stick together, so it's none of your business. Why don't YOU just leave US alone?" Matt hollered. Hotaru stopped and whispered to Matt, 'I'll handle it Matt.'  
  
"Hey, um, Kive?" Hotaru said innocently.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Um...I can't leave Matt. I was being sold and he bought me! So I can't just leave him, right?" She said quietly. Matt sweatdropped and pulled her over to the side.  
  
"Don't look at it that way!" Matt whispered quietly.  
  
"I don't. I'm trying to get him to stop asking me to run off with him. You know he's nice to me! I wonder why he's so mean to you." She whispered back.  
  
"Really?" Kive asked. Hotaru nodded. "Oh, whatever." He sighed.  
  
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"Anyways, Kive, we aren't going to Tesnus." Hotaru said. They had found a place where they could camp. They weren't going to stay the night, but Hotaru had reasoned that they had to talk with Kive. She wanted to give him a chance. She knew that Matt couldn't stand him, and he couldn't stand Matt, but he was nice to her. She wished they could get along better.  
  
"Oh? Don't tell me you're heading to Esirnus?" He asked, wide- eyed.  
  
"Yeah. That's where we're going numbskull. What's it to you?" Matt said, glaring.  
  
"You can't just drag a girl along into there! What are you thinking? It's so dirty, dark, and filled with crime and poverty. And plus, it's just not safe! What kind of idiot are you?" Kive shouted at Matt.  
  
"You know what? Mind your own business! And before we give you answers I want answers from you! You act like I'm the one who's doing something wrong by going with Hotaru, but really you just barged in on our travels so you're at fault. Now, give me answers now!" Matt growled.  
  
"Yea, Kive, I kind of do want answers too." Hotaru said sweetly.  
  
"Okay Hotaru, I'll tell you. I was coming from Esirnus, which is about two hours from here. I'm running away and I was heading to Tesnus. I'm so tired of stupid Esirnus. To me it's so boring there. And everything's just so stupid there." He sighed.  
  
"So you're not going to travel with us? What a relief!" Matt said cheerfully.  
  
"Yea right. Guess again. I can't just leave her with you. Who knows what kind of danger you'll put her through? I'm much more trustworthy than you, obviously. That's why I have to go with you!" Kive pointed out proudly.  
  
"Who says you can come!" Matt said, glaring fiercely. He didn't know if he could stand much more of this guy, much less travel with him for so long.  
  
"Oh, c'mon Matt! It'd be nice to have someone who's been in Esirnus before." She pointed out, kindly.  
  
"I guess Hotaru. It really is partially your decision. I can't say I totally agree with your decision, but oh well. I guess I have to deal with it." He sighed.  
  
"Thank you, Matt!" Hotaru chimed. Matt shot her a weak smile, then he shot a vicious glare at Kive.  
  
"If you do anything that gets us into trouble I swear! You WILL regret it. Don't think you won't! And don't you dare even think of kidnapping Hotaru and running off with her! From now on, we're all in this together! ALLIES not enemies! Got it? We don't have to be friends but we'll just have to put up with each other, got it? Cuz, we'll be sticking together until Hotaru and my purpose are done in this world." Matt snarled.  
  
"Whatever...what do you mean by your purpose here, Matt?" Kive asked.  
  
"Well, Hotaru and I are from another world and we have to go beat the crap out of the leader of Esirnus. Then I assume we'll get beamed back to earth." Matt sighed.  
  
"Ha! You guys won't last! No offense Hotaru. But, he's powerful! So powerful it's slightly scary, but I'll protect you. Not like that blonde dumbo could." Kive scoffed. (A/N: BWUAHAHHAHAHA! NEW word!!! YAAAY!!) Matt let out a pissed growl. Kive just waved it off.  
  
"Let's just go." Hotaru sighed as she could practically see steam coming from Matt.  
  
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"I think we're lost." Matt murmured to himself. "Kive, I thought you said it was two hours!"  
  
"It's only been about and hour and a half, numbskull." Kive replied, dully. Matt looked down at his wrist and clicked his tongue seeing Kive was correct. They had been walking for an hour and a half, but to Matt it seemed like much longer. It was probably because they had been walking with barely any talking. Matt hadn't talked to Kive because he wasn't in the mood for Kive's constant dissing. What was up with the guy? It was like he had an instant grudge against Matt. Matt was really starting to hate him. Kive had no right to stereotype him. Matt was just a guy traveling with his friend and Kive was the one who had just popped in out of nowhere. Matt shot a glare at the back of Kive's head. Why was he so obsessed with Hotaru? He felt a wave of jealousy wash down his body. He shook it off. Kive just had a crush on Hotaru. No big deal. Matt sighed, for some odd reason it still bothered him. They continued to walk for about twenty minutes in silence. Matt noticed the trees start to fade a little, though the forest remained pretty dense. Suddenly he felt a shiver crawl down his back.  
  
"Hotaru? Kive? Do you feel something?" Matt asked.  
  
"Huh? No Matt, why?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"He's just probably just being a loser and trying to creep us out. I don't feel anything. Let's just ignore him." Kive shrugged. Hotaru sighed.  
  
"Go ahead and tell us Matt." Hotaru said encouragingly. Kive stuck out his tongue at Matt.  
  
"Oh, oh. It's nothing." Matt said, easily waving it off. Hotaru gave him a worried look remembering what he had told her about his older self. Matt gave her an assuring smile. Kive just went back to ignoring Matt. Matt felt a pang in his head. He shook that off. Suddenly they came to a clearing.  
  
"Hey, we can rest here." Kive said, plopping down.  
  
"Let's not." Matt said, voice slightly troubled, as he pulled at Kive's arm in a desperate attempt to pull Kive up onto his feet.  
  
"Leave me alone." Kive scowled, jerking his arm away.  
  
"Come on Hotaru, let's go." Matt said, really on edge now. His stomach had gotten quite queasy. The feeling of danger was running up and down his body continuously. Hotaru stared at him worriedly. "Please." Matt tugged at her arm, a crazed look building in his eye.  
  
"Hey, leave her alone!! Can't you see you that you're scaring her you jerk?" Kive yelled angrily.  
  
"Whatever! I'm going to go off and try to prove it to you that something's wrong, and something is DEFINITELY wrong!!" Matt shouted, voice shaky. Then he stormed off, farther off into the clearing.  
  
"Gee, what's wrong with him?" Kive said, then he just brushed it off.  
  
"Matt! Matt! Come back!" Hotaru called, but he was already too far off to hear, and even if her voice could reach him, he wouldn't have really heard.  
  
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Matt was terrified. He didn't know of what. The fear was driving him crazy. This had never happened to him. Then he stopped dead in his tracks. There he saw a small red puddle splattered on the ground. He cringed in slight disgust and then looked back at where Kive and Hotaru rested. They were already little specks in the distance. He hadn't realized until then how far he had walked. He then turned back to the red liquid. He squatted down to the red liquid and swirled a stick in it to make sure. He felt sick. It was thick but still runny, and fresh; very fresh. Blood. Matt gulped and looked up. About a minute's walk was a cave. He felt a tremble of fear run through his body. He had to find out what was in those caves though. That was the only way to make sure they were safe, which Matt strongly didn't believe.  
  
He walked to the cave's entrance and was greeted by a repulsive odor. He covered his nose in disgust and breathed through his mouth. He sighed, noting he was still smelling it. It was something to the extent of spoiled milk, except ten times worse. Matt walked forward.  
  
"Hello? Anything here?" Matt called out into the cave. He knew he was being stupid. If something was in here it had the capability to kill, and kill easily. It had obviously already killed today. That meant it wasn't hungry right? Matt sure hoped so, because you don't call out a deadly beast when it's hungry. That was most likely suicide. Matt hoped not. He continued to slowly creep into the cave with out smelling the reek. Matt heard a crunch under his foot. He looked down and nearly cried out, but quickly put his hand over his mouth. He bent down and examined it. Bone. He shivered and looked farther into the tunnel. Scattered across the inside were piles of bones. Matt did NOT like the looks of this. And it seemed that the farther into the tunnel the more bones. He gulped and continued down the tunnel.  
  
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"I wonder why Matt got so freaked out." Hotaru sighed. She could no longer see Matt. He was just gone and she was worried.  
  
"He's just a nutcase. Not enough marbles in his head; they must have drained out of his ears." Kive joked. Hotaru sighed angrily.  
  
"Why are you always so mean to him? He didn't do anything to you! You shouldn't put him down. He might get angry and if he decided to ditch you I'd go with him!" Hotaru suddenly broke out. Kive sweatdropped.  
  
"Uh- umm...okay. I'm sorry." Kive apologized. Hotaru shook her head.  
  
"It's your fault that he just disappeared! He was afraid of something! He tried to get us to leave! I'm- I'm worried about him." She started at a shout, but slowly it died down to her normal voice. "I'm sorry. I'm worried." Kive nodded acceptingly. So she did care about him. Kive sighed. He felt a twinge of jealousy but ignored it.  
  
"So, what should we do about him?" Kive asked.  
  
"Should we go after him?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"Nah! If he's so great then he can handle himself, right?" Kive said stingily. Hotaru sighed.  
  
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Matt had to tiptoe to avoid the piles of bones all the while murmuring over and over again, 'sick, sick, and soo sick.' He couldn't believe he was going in deeper to this doom pit. What if whatever did this was still hungry? He gulped. Then the foul stench became so strong Matt couldn't help but smell it. He continued to tread deeper and deeper. The scared feeling was gone. Now it was terror. But along with that was a sense of duty. He felt responsible to slay the beast that had caused the death of so many creatures. Because of that he continued on, striding deeper into the dark cave. He shot a fireball deeper in the cave. Matt felt a ray of hope as he saw that the fireball crashed into a wall, but for a second he saw the silhouette of a creature 3x the size of him. His hope instantly died down as he suddenly saw a giant blood red, glowing eye shimmer in the darkness. Matt's eyes widened, instantly filled with fear. Whatever was back there it didn't seem very happy with him. Matt drew his sword shakily.  
  
"Um...Hello big scary creature!" Matt said nervously.  
  
He looked around nervously and glimpsed torches to both the sides of the hallway. What they were doing there and who put them there, Matt did not know. He was just relieved to see them. He shot fireballs at them nervously. In fact he shot too many, but that is beside the point. Then everything was lit up. He saw that the small hallway expanded into a big cavern and that he had hit some torches also in the opening. He had found the creature and its dwelling place. Then he looked at the creature and almost regretted lighting the torches. It had a black lizard heard with scales that seemed to peel with age. It had a long brown mane matted with the blood of its prey. It had long, gleaming fangs and sharp horns like a bull that looked like it could easily pierce through flesh. It had a long, snake like body with black scales, except a glimmer from a few scales here and there the color of old blood. It had four legs that looked like that of a dragon and the long tail of a dino that looked to Matt like it had the strength to crush rocks. But the worst part were the cold, merciless red glowing the eyes. The eyes of a ruthless, heartless killer. Matt shivered and backed up. The creature curled up its top lip in a snarl. Matt shot a fireball right in between its eyes. It roared up in annoyance, looming high above Matt. But also to Matt's advantage, it had banged its head on the top of the ceiling. Matt laughed. Then the creature came down with a roar, it's massive claws barely missing Matt. Matt instantly stopped laughing and got ready to fight. (A/N: HAHAHAHAH! Long paragraph!! You guys have to highlight....it helps!)  
  
The creature jumped at him. Matt ran for his life out of the way. Matt then ran to its side and slashed it. The creature roared. Then it shined a bright red and slowly shrunk until it was about Matt's size. In front of Matt stood a guy with short, dark red hair and glowing orange eyes, and horns protruding from his head. He wore a black robe with long black gloves and boots. (A/N: Yuck! I made him ugly on purpose. Yuck! So clashing. Bleh!) Matt sweatdropped. This was really weird to him.  
  
"Hah! This is a better form." The guy said." Then a sword materialized in his hand.  
  
(A/N: OKAY!!! CHECK THIS OUT!!! IT MAY HELP TO HIGHLIGHT LARGE PARAGRAPGHS LIKE THE ONE BELOW!!!! TRY HIGHLIGHTING IT! Or you could try increasing the font size. I don't know if that helps or not. I've never tried it. I REPEAT ONCE AGAIN!!! TRY TO HIGHLIGHT IT!! YOU BETTER GET THE MESSAGE BY NOW OR YOU ARE NOT VERY SMART!! *Sighs* you know, sadly, some people in this world would read this message and not highlight it. It is sad, I know. But if you've already tried it and you know it doesn't work for you or you can already read it fine then go ahead and do it your own way, I can definitely understand that. ^_^)  
  
"You want to sword fight me?" Matt gulped. The guy nodded and dived towards him. Matt pulled his sword in the way and they met with a clang. Then the guy made another swing for Matt from the side, but Matt quickly blocked that one too. Then Matt swung at the guy in an upper cut, but the guy dodged that. Matt sighed. He didn't want to kill a human like figure. It felt sort of wrong. This could turn out to be a long battle. Then Matt shot a fireball at the dude, but the monster/ person just deflected it back with his sword. Then he did some weird motion over his sword that Matt didn't really get. Then his sword began glowing a reddish orange. Then he charged at Matt with his sword. Matt pulled his sword in the way and their swords once again met head to head. Matt gasped as he felt him self instantly losing to the thing's power. It was slowly pushing him down. Now he couldn't even jump back! He had gotten himself into a fix. Matt pushed back as hard as he could, but it didn't even seem to make a difference. It seemed like he couldn't push back anymore. He was being overpowered! Then his sword began to sparkle. All of a sudden it glowed a bright blue to match the creatures orange color. Matt felt himself get stronger and he pushed back. Now they had an equal NET force. (A/N: WAAA!!! Science is affecting my mind!!!) Matt saw the guy's smirk fade away and become replaced with irritation. But equality wouldn't help them. Matt swung his foot up, risking his balance, but also kicking the guy in the stomach. The guy stumbled back winded. Matt let his guard slightly down, thinking that the guy would be out for at least a little while but unfortunately he quickly recovered and came rushing at an unprepared Matt in a series of swings. It was all Matt could do to block his mad frenzy. Matt could hardly see where he was going to strike next! He was moving way too fast. Matt would soon be backed up into the wall! Then all of a sudden Matt felt his back hit something, being the wall, and let his guard down because of surprise. In a swift movement of the guy's hand Matt's sword was knocked out of his hand and behind the guy. Matt gulped, pressed against the wall, doom before him. The guy smirked and drew back his arm. Matt saw he was aiming for his head. He concentrated really hard. The guy thrust his arm forward but Matt, who had been anticipating in, had ducked as soon as he noted the guy starting to thrust. The sword slammed into the wall where Matt's head HAD been, but completely missed Matt. The guy desperately tried to pull the sword out of the wall while Matt crawled behind him and stood back up. The fool was completely ignoring Matt. Matt stood up behind him and moved his leg in a quick sweep and knocked the guy off balance, causing him to fall. Matt was instantly on him, pounding the crap out of the poor thing with his fists, plummeting him all over his back and head. They guy tried to block calling out 'Mommy!!!!' but Matt had taken a seat on his back. If Matt had been in the guy's situation he would have known what to do, fist fights being his attacking expertise, but unfortunately for him, the creature was nothing like Matt. Matt finally stopped and turned the guy over. He looked badly smashed, bruised and beat up. He was also, clearly knocked out. Eyes spinning dizzily. Matt laughed nervously. That hadn't been too hard.  
  
"I guess I sort of hit him a bit to hard. Sorry, sort of!" Matt said to the creature. Then Matt noted it start to grow. He quickly ran back to avoid being squished. All of a sudden a tall human figure appeared next to him. Matt jumped back in surprise. "Umm, hello? Who are you?" Matt asked. The guy just shot him a glare. Matt quickly observed him. He had blood red eyes and short hair as black as the dark and a perfectly carved face. He wore red armor, silver trimmed, with a flowing black cape, clasped with an intricately designed black and red brooch. He also wore baggy black pants, and silver shoulder blades. He had dark red gloves that went up to his elbows and were cut before the fingers. He wore Black boot, held together with belts that went across the front of them and were clasped with buckles. He looked to be in his late teens. Matt would say he looked cool if an evil aura hadn't surrounded him. The guy walked toward the beast, drawing a blade. Matt looked at the sword. It had a black blade and looked deadly sharp. It had a red hilt with a black design winding up the handle. At the cross part it had a dark shard of Black opal and curved out and down creating an arch. The black, vine like design ran up and around the opal and extended to the tips of the cross part (A/N: Waaaa! I don't know what it's called.) Matt shivered. The blade gave him the creeps. The guy gave him the creeps. He gave the whole cave a reek of evil. Matt could practically see the darkness and evil flowing from him. Matt had immediately got the scared, sickening feeling he had when they were out in the clearing. The guy continued to walk towards the beast, weapon out.  
  
"Useless minion. You have killed many, but you can't kill a SIMPLE boy! You dishonor me that I ever created you! I created you to kill one person! He is weak! A new sword wielder and you couldn't even destroy him? You disgrace me!" With one quick motion he lifted his sword and lopped its head off. Matt choked. That was pretty gruesome, and wrong. The guy was pretty harmless, but in the end wasn't he planning to do the same thing? Slay the beast? He didn't think he would have been able to go through with it. Anyways, this guy wasn't slaying it for the sake of other people. Matt shivered. He was getting the shiver up his spine again. He didn't like being around this guy. It felt so wrong. Then the dude used some sort of magic and shot it inside the beast.  
  
"Oh yes, Matt. Before I take my leave, I must say. I find it quite amusing how the closer you step to me, the more you lose it. And don't worry; I'll deal with you in the same way as my minion when the time comes. I really ought to be going now." The guy said coldly, with a small tinge of humor. "Oh, and by the way, I left you a little present." The guy finished. Matt saw a smirk crawl onto his face. Matt blinked and when he finished the mysterious man was gone. Matt did not like his ending tone. It did not sound happy to him. He shivered. That guy was so creepy. Matt stared at the minion and looked away. It was too disgusting. He then began to walk away, but he suddenly realized that he had left his sword back in the cavern. He sighed and walked over to it. He was about to pick it up when he heard a high pitch screech and suddenly he felt the blast of an explosion. He was also suddenly splashed with something slimy. Matt felt it all over him. He stifled a yell. He did not like this at all. It felt extremely sick. His whole back had been covered with it. He had a feeling he wouldn't like what it was. He looked at his arm and felt like hurling. Glopped on it was thick orange goo. He hoped this wasn't what he thought it was. Matt picked up his sword and shook the stuff of it violently. Then he began to wipe off the stuff furiously. After a few minutes he felt like it was all off him. He really hoped they could stop somewhere for a bath sometime soon because he felt disgusting. He looked back and saw the floor and walls had been splattered with it. He looked to where the monster had stood and saw what he feared. No monster. That meant....oh god. He had been sopped with monster guts. He felt a wave of sickness wash over him. He decided instantly that he didn't want the mysterious figure to deal with him the way he had dealt with his minion. This was too sick. Then Matt heard a patter of footsteps from the passageway he had entered from.  
  
"Eww...I wonder what happened here! Poor things." He heard Hotaru say.  
  
"Yea, well, it's just your common monster work, you know." He heard Kive point out.  
  
"I wonder if that's why Matt felt so bad. Maybe because of the monster?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"Tch, if that's what made him go so crazy then he's in for a lot in Esirnus. In Esirnus creatures roam freely. It's not uncommon to come across one, you know." Kive pointed out. Then they reached the cavern and met up with Matt.  
  
"Matt." Kive said.  
  
"What?" Matt growled.  
  
"You look terrible." Kive mocked. Matt sighed.  
  
"I know, I know. Look, see! There are monster guts all over! It's not my fault." Matt said short-temperedly at Kive, who continued to mock him.  
  
"If you don't mind me asking, Matt. Did you do this?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"Um, no. Do you think I have the capability of doing this?" Matt said, impatiently, motioning to the room. Hotaru shook her head no. Matt sighed.  
  
"Yea, Matt. We KNOW that you could never pull this off. I wonder who did?" Kive asked.  
  
"Guys, I think I've just had an encounter with the fabled ruler of Esirnus." Matt sighed.  
  
"WHAT!!???" Kive and Hotaru shouted in unison.  
  
"Yup, but I'll tell you guys about it later. This place reeks with monster guts." Matt sighed.  
  
"So do you." Kive taunted. Matt shot him a glare, but continued to walk out.  
  
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Eww...this painful was pretty sick and kind of scary. I don't know what came over me. I just went crazy, I guess. This was a pretty scary chapter. I hope I don't write more like it. Eww.so gruesome. That was pretty sick. I hope you guys were ready for that. I know I wasn't. Just sort of made it happened and then read it and went OMG!! SICKNESS!! *Sniff* Poor Matt. YUCK!! Okay, so anyways. Next chappie is sure to be better. So tell me what you guys think of this one, okay? Please? Please? Okay, sorry. So, Sairi, Lynn, is Kive meaner, or nicer. I can't tell. Oh yea, I'd like opinions on this ruler dude. Seems like an interesting person, nee? I know what I'm gonna do with him, but you don't! BWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! So what do YOU guys think about him so far? Also, same goes for Kive. I'd like to know! And please please review. And it would help if you would answer my requests by putting your opinions in the review. And I do take requests. I do have an overall plan for this story, but little ideas to pass the chapters by may help. WEEEE!! This chapter was filled with big paragraphs! How fun! Did the highlighting help you? If it did I would appreciate it if you'd tell me!! I don't want to say something false by shouting to the world that highlighting may help. Okay thanks! I can't stress it enough! YAAAY!!! I'm done with this weirdo chapter!!! Yea!!! Please R+R!! See you guys next chapter!!! ^_^ 


	7. Rivalry

I now bring to you: *Drum roll* CHAPTER SEVEN!!! Whoohoo! I hope this chapter will be good, unlike that stinky other chapter I wrote, and sorry if you thought that one was good, but that one personally sucked and just came out of a mind that, well, wasn't thinking straight at the time. This time I am thinking quite fine though you can never be quite sure. And if you liked that chapter, I am sorry, but you are either a guy, or you are very depressed. Or, that's just my opinion because I HATED that chapter now that I reread it. I don't know, maybe later I'll come to accept it as a normal chapter. You never know, it could just be the start of a wave of really abnormal chapters. Oh yes, and I'll try to update every week, hopefully on Monday or sooner, but I can't promise anything. I do have school, which I can't say I'm too thrilled about. It may get in the way. Pray that it won't if you want to read some more of this fic...*sighs* but really, if I mess up this quarter then I'll probably have all my computer rights taken away, seeing as it is my second most prominent distraction. Oh, well. Then you guys won't get anything until 4th quarter. Anyways, I'm not quite sure what'll happen in this chapter, but we'll see. I hated my old chapter titles so I changed them. That's okay, right? Anyways, I hate these new ones too, but that's quite okay. After all, there's no rule saying I have to love my chapter titles. I should have just stuck to the whole Ch. 1, Ch. 2 kind of thing. Oh well, too late now. Okay, to the nice little chapter, which will hopefully be less gruesome than the last. YUCK! Sick! Monster guts...Bleh!  
  
Ah, yes, of course. I should find a way of making this more fun. I do not own Digimon or Sailor Moon. I want to own them! Believe me, I do! I will stick to having my psychic pillow, and my devoted minion, Shadow Matt.  
  
Shadow Matt: I am not!  
  
Megumi: SILENCE!!!!!  
  
SM: Okay, when do I get put in this story?  
  
Megumi: I SAID silence, but since you asked, I'll tell you. WHEN I FEEL LIKE IT!!!!  
  
SM: Okay...I'm sorry.  
  
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If Darkness Could Befriend Ch. 7: Rivalry  
  
"Matt, you need a bath. You stink!" Kive joked.  
  
"Yea, well, I want a bath. That's what sort of happens when you get splattered with monster guts. Man that was sick. That was the sickest joke anyone's ever played on me." Matt said, still absolutely disgusted, and also, quite irritated. He couldn't wait to get off Midday Mountains, and Kive had said they were getting close. Matt had also notice more clearings and the trees were really starting to thin out.  
  
"Matt? What do you mean by, 'you met the ruler of Esirnus?'" Hotaru asked.  
  
"I mean that I met the ruler of Esirnus, and he lopped of this gigantic creatures head like it was a slice of honey baked ham." Matt sighed.  
  
"Honey baked ham? What's that?" Kive asked.  
  
"Dude, we really need to introduce you good cooking. You know nothing! And then we can show you a little something we back on earth we like to call technology, because you are so in the dark." Matt teased.  
  
"Shut up. Like you would know what good cooking is. You probably burn any food you cook. Probably couldn't boil water." Kive snickered.  
  
"We could bet on that one, you know. I'd be glad to prove you wrong." Matt said, haughtily. He had given up trying to be friends with this guy, or even trying to be neutral. It was like Kive was practically begging him to be his rival. If he wanted to challenge Matt so bad, Matt was no longer willing to fight it. If Kive wanted to fight him, then a fight was exactly what Matt was going to give him. Kive just turned his head away snobbish. Then Matt began to wonder. He opened his mouth to ask Kive something.  
  
"Actually Kive, Matt cooks good from what I know. Well, he cooks scrambled egg good at the least. They were the best scrambled eggs I've ever tasted." Hotaru cut Matt off, licking her lips trying her best to recall the taste.  
  
"Kive, I have a question." Matt said.  
  
"Shoot." Kive replied.  
  
"Why did you run away and what did you run away from?" Matt asked.  
  
"That's a personal question. I don't want to answer you. Well, it depends. You have to tell me something first. One bit of information for another. I'm not going to give you my personal life without a price." Kive pointed out stingily. Matt shrugged. "Okay then, what exactly are you guys planning to do in Esirnus. I know you're going to attack the ruler but well- I mean, if I'm going to travel with you, I might as well know." He said indifferently.  
  
"We're going to go to the nine ruins and then we're going to go and try to attack the ruler." Hotaru said. Kive smiled at her.  
  
"Do I get an answer?" Matt asked.  
  
"No." Kive said plainly.  
  
"What!! That's not fair! You said!" Matt protested.  
  
"Shut your trap already. I just figure if you guys are going to pass through my town then I might as well tell you then. Not that I really want to go back, but oh well. It's right next to the ruins so I suppose I have no choice." Kive said, cringing a little.  
  
"Okay." Matt sighed. Whatever the guy had to face, he'd leave him alone about it. "Hey!!! Look! I think I can see a town!!!" Matt said happily. They rushed forward and looked down from the slope they were on. There, before them was Esirnus and its first town.  
  
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They walked into the tiny town and looked around. It didn't seem like such a bad place to Hotaru. Maybe it was a little gloomy here, but there were children running around. She bumped into one and he dropped his ball. She picked it up and gave it to him, rubbing his head playfully. He smiled at her with thankful eyes and ran off.  
  
"Kive, things seem pretty peaceful here. I thought you said it was dirty, dark, and full of poverty." Hotaru pointed out.  
  
"Delra Village is one of the last villages not under his control. And trust me, there aren't many. Thankfully, mine is still free. I passed by here earlier. It is a peaceful town, isn't it?" He sighed. "I hope it remains peaceful. There are some ruins near here. You guys can check them out soon. Let's find a room to check into."  
  
"Excuse me?" Matt asked a guy outside, tending one of the carts. "Could you please tell us where the nearest inn is?" The guy nodded and pointed across the street. "Oh! Thanks! It was right in front of me! I'm sorry, sir!" Matt said, laughing apologetically.  
  
"Dimwit." Kive mumbled. Matt shot him a glare. "Well, that's what you are. A dimwit with no sense." Kive laughed. Hotaru sighed.  
  
"I ought to punch your lights out for all the crap you say to me." Matt growled.  
  
"Give me your best shot wuss." Kive said, taking a fighting stance.  
  
"You want to fight me?" Matt growled, getting his fists up.  
  
"Stop!! Don't' fight!!" Hotaru shouted. Everybody was gathered around them. But Matt or Kive didn't hear her. Her calls were drowned out by calls of 'FIGHT!! FIGHT!!'  
  
"You got me buster." Kive growled. With that he ran/ dived at Matt. Matt laughed and stuck out a fist where Kive's head would land. Kive gulped realizing what would happen, but he tried to stop and came skidding to a stop right in front of Matt's fist. He let out a sigh. Then Matt swung his fist forward, slamming it into Kive's face. Then he moved his other fist and it collided with Kive in the stomach. Kive stumbled back with anger.  
  
"That's enough. You're not going to win. There's no use in getting beat up. Hotaru wouldn't like it, so can we just call it quits here?" Matt asked, turning around and beginning to walk away. Then all of a sudden Kive dove at him, knocking him to the ground. H was sitting on Matt. He had him pinned and became to pummel him.  
  
"That was cheap!" Matt growled. Kive stopped and shrugged and went back to his business of beating Matt up. Then Matt readied himself. Suddenly he swung his whole back around and slammed a fist into Kive's face, causing him to fly back a few feet, off his back. (A/N: He did that in the show!!! It was really cool and I was amazed at his amazing inhuman skilluz!!)  
  
"Oww....my nose." Kive mumbled while rubbing his nose. Matt got up and brushed himself off.  
  
"Kive, you are such a cheater." Matt growled. "You got what you deserved." Matt shot them a quick glare and then, spotting Hotaru, walked forward and softened his eyes. Slowly the crowd dispersed.  
  
"Matt! I don't like it when you two fight! You guys shouldn't fight, okay? Go help Kive up and ask if he's okay." Hotaru commanded.  
  
"But-" Matt protested weakly.  
  
"Please Matt? Do it for me." Hotaru pleaded. Matt gave in with a sigh and walked over to Kive, helping him up and then briskly walking away.  
  
"You're so cheap!" Kive barked.  
  
"I'm not the cheap one, Mr. I'll get the guy when he says he won't fight anymore!" Matt shouted.  
  
"I demand a rematch!" Kive called.  
  
"I could take you anytime!" Matt called back.  
  
"WOULD YOU TWO JUST SHUT UP...please?" Hotaru shouted finally.  
  
"Okay Hotaru, Matt's not worth my time anyways." Kive shrugged. Matt clenched and unclenched his fists.  
  
"Kive, you want a rematch? I'll give you one. And I'll whip your butt again!" Matt growled.  
  
"Fine!" Kive accepted and rushed at Matt. Hotaru sighed and began heading off to explore the town.  
  
"Hey kid, gimme yer money!" A guy shouted. Hotaru stared over and saw a big kid pushing around the little boy she had seen earlier. She was about to walk over when a boy a few years older than her walked out from the hotel and spotted them.  
  
"Hey! Leave him alone!" The boy shouted. Hotaru turned to him and watched the scene play in front of her.  
  
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"How many times do I have to tell you to leave Kiyon alone?" The boy growled.  
  
"Why should I, Hakiyo, when your brother practically asks us to pick on him?" The older kid laughed.  
  
"I don't!" Kiyon protested innocently.  
  
"Leave him be. I don't want to have to fight you again." Hakiyo said calmly. So calmly that it sounded quite dangerous.  
  
"Why? Because you know you'll lose?" The guy laughed.  
  
"When have I lost to you before, Crow? If I recall correctly, every time we fight I win." Hakiyo scoffed.  
  
"Not this time." Crow said, smirking. All of a sudden he whistled and a few more boys ran to him. Hakiyo bit his lip in worry. The odds were definitely against him this time. Crow, that was too easy. Five? That was a different story.  
  
"Kiyon, go back to the hotel." Hakiyo called to his brother who got up and ran back, shooting his brother a worried glance before disappearing into the hotel. Then Hakiyo raised his fists and got ready. Hotaru watched as the boy tried to keep up with all the blows dealt to him, but she knew it was impossible. He was doing quite well under the circumstances. Then suddenly a blow caught him in the leg and he stumbled. All of a sudden he was punched in the face by crow, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. Then all the guys were on him, pummeling him with many fists. Hotaru gasped and used her glaive.  
  
"Silence Wall!" She shouted and slammed her glaive on the ground. A purple force field surrounded Hakiyo.  
  
"Are you okay?" Hotaru asked Hakiyo from behind the group of bullies. Hakiyo blinked. The other boys stared at the force field.  
  
"What happened?" Crow asked.  
  
"I happened." Hotaru said. Everyone turned to look at her. "And I won't take it off unless you defeat me." She said to Crow.  
  
"Let's attack her!" One of Crows Lackeys called.  
  
"How about this Sweet heart. You give me a kiss and I'll let you both go!" Crow laughed. Hotaru grimaced in disgust.  
  
"Eww...No way! I like my idea better." Hotaru said strongly.  
  
"Sorry that's your decision." He said rushing towards her. Hotaru sighed and swirled the glaive around so the dull side faced him. The idiot just ran into it, winding himself.  
  
"That was painfully easy." Hotaru sighed. The underling ran off after seeing their commander fall. "Go on Crow. Follow your little lackeys." Hotaru mocked. Crow got up and ran away screaming 'DEMON GIRL!!' Hotaru stifled an outburst of laughter and turned towards Hakiyo. "You okay?" She asked. She looked him up and down. He was pretty attractive. He had prominent emerald eyes and hair the color sandy brown, but he also looked like he had a hard spirit. He nodded and turned his head away. Hotaru let the silence wall down.  
  
"I could have held that myself. I can take care of my brother and myself." He said coldly. "Well, what is it that you want?" He said after a few seconds of silence.  
  
"N-Nothing. I just wanted to help out." She answered.  
  
"I suppose you would like free stay at the hotel?" He said bitterly, ignoring her completely.  
  
"Well, I didn't know you could do that, but that would be nice." Hotaru said, kindly.  
  
"Tch, whatever." The room is yours." He growled.  
  
"Can I ask for three?" She said modestly.  
  
"Two. You pay for the last." Hakiyo said icily. She nodded.  
  
"Lemme go and tell my friends." She said, sort of intimidated by this boy and his harshness.  
  
"Go, then. Run to your little friends." He scoffed.  
  
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Hotaru walked over to Matt and Kive thinking about this cold boy. She walked up and discovered Kive grumbling on the ground looking very battered and beat up and Matt with only a few scratches here and there standing proud off to the side.  
  
"You got what you deserved." Matt shrugged over to the side. Hotaru plucked Kive of the ground with a sigh.  
  
"Matt. Apologize." Hotaru demanded.  
  
"B-but-He started it!!!" Matt protested softly.  
  
"Please Matt?" Hotaru pleaded. Matt let out a sigh. Kive mocked him in the background  
  
"I'm sorry, Kive." Matt growled. Kive laughed at him.  
  
"Okay Kive, your turn." Hotaru said, nodding at Matt. Matt stuck his tongue out at Kive. Kive looked up to her with a pleading look that said, 'do I have to?' She nodded.  
  
"I'm sorry that you're an idiot, too Matt." Kive laughed. Hotaru shot him a major glare. All of a sudden he felt himself lose his balance. He lifted his head and saw that Matt had slipped his leg by and tripped him.  
  
"Aww...Are you hurt Kive? I'm sorry!" Matt mocked. Hotaru sighed. Since when did Matt actually fight back against Kive? Maybe he was just tired of always being teased and put down by Kive. She knew she would be, but that was not the case. If anything, Kive was sweet to her. But then again...so was Matt. She shrugged.  
  
"I guess you two will just have to pay for your own rooms." Hotaru shrugged.  
  
"But Hotaru! I have the money right?" Matt said, glancing down at the bag.  
  
"I got a free room. I got another one free, but I guess if you two are too busy to claim it..." She sighed.  
  
"Naw...don't worry. I think Kive's had enough beating for one day. I'll go with you." Matt said half seriously half jokingly. He caught Kive shooting him a glare and just cocked his head at him awkwardly and followed Hotaru. Kive remained lying on the ground.  
  
"Myy baaack." Kive murmured. Matt managed a smirk.  
  
"I guess I get the room, then. Since you're too lazy to get up." Matt said.  
  
"Matt, help him up again." Hotaru sighed.  
  
"Okay." Matt sighed. Then he bent down and helped Kive get up.  
  
"Hey you idiot! You don't just trip people! It's unFAIR!!!" Kive shouted in Matt's ear. Matt cringed.  
  
"Well, when someone says the fight is over it's not fair if you rush at their back, knocking them over when they don't expect it, and start pummeling them with your fists. Or that's not what I think is fair!" Matt quipped angrily. Kive pouted angrily, turning his back to Matt. "Fine...whatever. Be that way. I don't care. I'm going to catch up to Hotaru." Matt shrugged and walked off, over to Hotaru.  
  
"Not if I can get to her first!" Kive laughed as he zoomed by Matt.  
  
"OH NO YOU DON'T!!!" Matt called, racing after Kive.  
  
The rivalry had begun.  
  
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So whaddya think of this one? I didn't spend too much time on it and I knoe it's out late. GOMEN NASAI!!!! Well, I wrote another story. It's called Fate's Games and it's original fiction. It's pretty depressing but I'd like it if you guys read and reviewed that one too. That would make me feel sorta special, you know? But you don't have to, of course! Especially if you don't like depressing things.  
  
Here's the sum-sum: The kingdom falls to an unknown enemy and the princess is made to flee. On the way a boy saves her, risking his own life and gets captured with the rest of the kingdom. Time passes and they shall meet again, but what does fate have in store for these two?  
  
If that sounds like an interesting story thing to you, by all means feel free to check it out. I know it's going to be harder to get peeps to read a fic with unknown characters so a little broadcasting never hurts! Please read it and review. And please continue to read and review this story too. I have a lot in store for Matt, Hotaru, and Kive so please stay tuned! ^_^ Hope to see ya next chappie!! See ya for now!! 


	8. Reliability

Weee! TIME FOR CHAPTER EIGHT!!! I know that I'm late on this coming out. I've just been busy writing my other fic that only my friends are reading for some odd reason...*sniff, sniff* Does everyone not wanna read that one? No one's reading this one either. Well, I suspect that since this is not a break. Maybe some more people will read this in the summer! And my other one too! I sure hope so! I write weird! *Sighs* what'll you people do if I move to Alaska and publish a book there. Would you follow me and read the book. I don't think so. That'd be really sad, but that was really random! ^_^ Well how have you guys been. It's been a while. You ought to read my other fic too. But you guys don't have too. I suppose that's what I get for writing another fic and it's in original fiction! Quite stupid of me, nee? I think so. I mean, people are less likely to read original fiction than fan fics. Well, maybe that's just MY observation. Well, you guys should review when I write! I don't feel as inspired as I used to. Well, I should be happy that I have the reviews that I already have. And anyways, I still have Lynn and Sairi! Anyways, Lynn pointed out something to me and I was cracking up when she told me. On my other fic I accidentally called the guy Matt instead of his normal name. That made me feel very stupid, but I also found it funny! *Laughs at her own stupidity* But then it also made me go crazy! I can't believe I did that! I hope it doesn't happen again! OH NO! What if it does? What'll happen! Arg! Please don't be confused if I accidentally call Matt Maar. If I call anyone Maar assume that it's Matt. Okay? Please? I hope I don't do that! Poor Matt if I do! And no, in Fate's Games Matt DID NOT- I repeat DID NOT laugh sinisterly. But seriously Lynn, don't you think you made too big of a deal out of that? Oh yeah! Thanks to Lydia, I know how to do now! That's cool! I am starting this the day before finals. I'm pretty dumb. I tried to study, but after 30 minutes I fell asleep. How embarrassing. Did you guys miss me for the little time I haven't typed?  
  
AND I DON'T OWN DIGIMON OR SAILOR MOON!!! DON'T SUE ME!!! Please?  
  
SM: Sorry people. I think the studying made her go insane.  
  
Megumi: I love Japanese but, it's a multiple choice test for cripes sake! I mean, come on! It's English and Social Studies that I have C's in! *Sniff*  
  
SM: Why can't you be an A+ student like me!  
  
Megumi: Shut UP dork!  
  
SM: Okay, sorry.  
  
Megumi: That's right! Bow before me pitiful minion.  
  
SM: ....uh...yea...tell Lynn to do that.  
  
Megumi: NO! She's my pretend minion!  
  
SM: ...uh...okay. *Sighs*  
  
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If Darkness Could Befriend Ch. 8: Reliability  
  
"Dude, I get the free room." Matt growled.  
  
"No! I do!" Kive shouted.  
  
"Nuh-uh. I do. Do you want to fight over it?" Matt challenged.  
  
"NOOOO! You CHEAT! It's MY room." Kive shouted.  
  
"Do you guys want the free room or not. I'm sure there are some other people who would be GLAD to take it." Hakiyo said indifferently.  
  
"Uh, please give us some time. They're just..........let's just put it as odd. I don't know if they can willingly agree on ANYTHING. This could take a while but please hold the room for us." She pleaded. He shrugged.  
  
"ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS!" Matt said at last.  
  
"Rock, paper, scissors? How will those help us?" Kive asked cluelessly, eyes wide with question like a young child. Matt stared in shock.  
  
"You don't know the game, rock, paper, scissors?" Matt gulped, in distress. Kive shook his head hesitantly. Matt rubbed his temples in frustration.  
  
"Umm, well, this could take a while." Matt sighed. He began trying to teach Kive rock, paper, scissors fruitlessly. "Okay, so this peace sign means scissors. A fist means rock. And your flat hand is paper." They had completely forgot about their argument. Even Hakiyo was staring in interest at interesting new concept of rock, paper, scissors. Hotaru let out a sigh and headed off to find Hakiyo's little brother, Kiyon to see if he was okay.  
  
"So then what? Do I get to poke your eyes out with scissors, smash you in the face with rock, or slap you with paper?" Kive asked. "I hope I get rock and scissors all the time." Matt slammed his head on his forehead.  
  
"NO IMBECIL! Not everything in the world has to do with violence! Geez! Now! If you have any questions please DON'T ASK THEM until I'm finished. Thank you." Kive wrinkled up his face in confusion.  
  
"I don't get your weird games." Kive pouted.  
  
"I think that your supposed to both choose a symbol, rock, paper or scissors, and then you put them against each other or something like that. But what after that? What beats what? Well, that's just what I think." Hakiyo said suddenly.  
  
"Naw! That couldn't be it! That makes no sense at all!" (Yup, he's much stupider than Kai-kun when it comes to stuff like this. Poor Kive.) Kive whined. Hakiyo shrugged.  
  
"Actually Kive, Hakiyo was right so keep quiet, like I said, until I'm finished." Matt said. "Okay now, rock smashed scissors, scissors cuts paper, and paper wraps rock. Get it?" Matt asked. He got two different responses. A nod from Hakiyo and a no from a very stressed looking Kive.  
  
"Well, Kive, lemme put it this way. Rock beats scissors. Scissors beats paper. Paper beats rock. Simple enough or do I have to spell it out?"  
  
"Could you spell it out?" Kive asked in his naïve tone. Matt let out a groan.  
  
"Hakiyo, can you play a game with me to show Kive?" Matt asked.  
  
"Pshh, you wish man. Why would I play with you?" Hakiyo said, laughing as if the idea was preposterous.  
  
"Aw, c'mon man! For the poor lost idiot here's sake. He doesn't get it and I need someone to help." Matt reasoned.  
  
"Why should we help him?" Hakiyo asked with spite.  
  
"I don't know. Because he needs it? He's a little on the slow side." Matt said. Hakiyo rolled his eyes and gave in. "Rock Paper Scissors." Matt called out. Kive ended up with a scissors. Matt had paper.  
  
"I guess I win." Hakiyo said, slightly amused.  
  
"Oh, I don't think you ever caught our names! My name is Matt and his is Kive. Okay. Do you think Kive gets it?" They both turned to Kive.  
  
"Do you get it now?" Matt asked, hopeful.  
  
"Yea! I think so! Thanks Hakiyo!" Kive said in delight.  
  
"Hey, what about my thanks?" Matt insisted. "I taught you!"  
  
"Apparently not very well. Hakiyo was the reason I got it!" Kive pointed out. Matt's eyes narrowed in a glare at Kive.  
  
"Let's play." Matt growled. "Rock Paper Scissors!" Matt called out. Matt had rock. Kive had scissors. "I win! I get free room! Hahah loser!" Matt laughed.  
  
"Rematch! Three out of Five!" Kive shouted.  
  
"No! I won fair and square!"  
  
"Nuh-uh! You MUST have cheated SOMEHOW!" Kive said, displeased.  
  
"Nuh-uh! And we're not playing another game!" Matt argued.  
  
"C'mon, Matt. Humor the poor lost soul." Hakiyo laughed.  
  
"Aw fine." Matt sighed and they began to play again.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
"Hey Kiyon!" Hotaru said, finding him in the kitchen, which was behind a door at the back of the lobby. She had been searching for quite a while now, about half an hour. "Those boys didn't beat you up too bad did they?" Hotaru asked, face splashed with sympathy. Kiyon turned around to face her. The seven year old's face seemed to be filled with admirance.  
  
"I watched you! You helped my brother against those mean brainless goons!" He said cheerfully.  
  
"Brainless goons? Yea, that's a good way to put it! You a cool kid aren't you!" Hotaru laughed.  
  
"Nuh-uh. I'm not as cool as my brother! He always takes care of me! He's the best! He's always nice to me and he's taken care of me since our parents left." He said in pure admiration. She looked into the boys face and saw pure innocence. She felt instant pity. How horrible it must have been to live without parents. Sure, she could barely recall her mother, but she always could count on her dad. And now she had Setsuna, Haruka, and Michiru! They were the best guardians. She wanted to hug him and tell him it was okay, but she knew it wasn't wise.  
  
"So where are you from?" He asked her.  
  
"Oh, well this place called Japan, but I came over Midday Mountains from a city called Rean in Tesnus. I didn't land in Esirnus." Hotaru explained.  
  
"Really? Well, what are you doing here? Most people try to get out of Esirnus, not go into it. In fact, almost everyone who's came to stay at Delra Inn have come so that they can get over to Tesnus."  
  
"Well, my friends and I are going to the ruins, but the problem is, we don't really know where too many of them are." Hotaru laughed nervously.  
  
"Really, now! There are ruins right outside off this town! But you shouldn't go there. It's scary. People go in and they go out! What if they got eaten? I don't want you to get eaten! That wouldn't be good!" The little boy cried out clinging to her shirt.  
  
"Well see here! I have to go! But thank you for telling me there were ruins around here." Hotaru said. "Don't worry! I won't get myself eaten!" She said, smiling encouragingly.  
  
"That's true! You have cool defense power. I watched you use that purple thingee through the window!"  
  
"Aww, it's not that cool." She laughed. "Oh, yea! Could you tell me where the ruins are? Like I said, I don't really know this place too well."  
  
"Oh, sure! I can do better than that! I can give you a map! We always hand them out to our customers anyways. And along with the city map I'll give you the whole map of Esirnus because you're cool! Big brother put me in charge of stuff like this! I'm supposed to hand out maps! But don't tell big brother that I gave you one of our maps to Esirnus! He doesn't like handing them out unless we really trust the person. But don't worry! I really trust you! I can tell you're a goo person so I'm giving them to you!" Kiyon said, smiling happily. He pulled out two maps from a bag at his side and handed it to her.  
  
"Thanks! You really are a sweet boy." She said, putting them in their bottomless bag, which she had stolen from Matt when he wasn't looking. "Okay, I think it's about time that we go see what my friends have decided to do about the rooms." Hotaru sighed. She walked out into the lobby, seeing Matt, hands on hips in a very boastful pose and Kive yelling at him, steam practically rising from his head. She could picture his eyes glowing red. It was funny, but scary at the same time. Hakiyo was standing by them with a slight smirk on his face.  
  
"So who gets the room?" Hotaru asked, suddenly up by the both of them. Hakiyo wiped the smirk off his face. Matt and Kive suddenly turned to her and both jumped back in surprise.  
  
"H-Hotaru! I didn't see you there!" Kive gasped.  
  
"Yeah." Matt said, also surprised.  
  
"Who one?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"Matt did." Hakiyo spoke up.  
  
"No! We're not done!" Kive shouted.  
  
"Kive, I won sixteen out of the twenty-five games we played! I so won!" Matt argued.  
  
"Look! It's either you guys decide or no one gets the room!" Hakiyo said in irritation.  
  
"Fine with me! Matt and I can both pay our separate shares!" Kive said.  
  
"No way! That's no fair! Just because I won! If you had won sixteen out of the twenty-five I know that you'd want the free room!" Matt argued angrily.  
  
"Of course I'd want the free room if I had won! But the point is that I didn't, so I don't want you to have it!" Kive scoffed.  
  
"That's no fair Kive!" Matt whined.  
  
"I can't believe this isn't resolved." Hotaru murmured, rolling her eyes.  
  
"You know what! Matt, you can just keep the room. Kive, pay up!" Hakiyo said, irritated.  
  
"No WAY!" I don't want to pay! Make Matt pay!" Kive sulked.  
  
"Just pay Kive." Hotaru said.  
  
"Okay Hotaru." Kive groaned. They heard him mumble, "Everyone's against me! It's not fair." He reached into a bag and gave over some copper coins. Then Hakiyo handed over the change.  
  
"Let's head in for tonight." Kive said.  
  
"Why?" Matt asked.  
  
"Well, since I bought the room then I want to use it as much as I can. And anyways Matt, you need a bath, remember?" Kive mocked.  
  
"Don't push it." Matt snarled viciously. "If you were showered with monster guts you'd stink too. Oh wait. I'm sorry. You already stink!"  
  
"That'll be enough of you two!" Hotaru snapped and headed up the stairs to where the room was.  
  
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(~The Next Day~)  
  
"Are you sure that we can trust that little kid. After all, he is Hakiyo's brother." Kive scowled as they headed off to the ruins.  
  
"Hey, man, Hakiyo's cool! We can trust him!" Matt argued.  
  
"That's because you got the free room." Kive grumbled.  
  
"Your still sore about that? Never knew you were such a cry baby." Matt mocked.  
  
"I am not a crybaby!" Kive pouted.  
  
"That's enough." Hotaru sighed as they approached the front of the ruins. To Hotaru it seemed like quite a peaceful place. Not scary at all. It was full of stone. In the center was a weird silver cross like design.  
  
"Hey guys, look at this!" Hotaru called out from the middle. Matt and Kive walked over and stared at the large cross like symbol in the middle of the piles of rubble and fallen pillars. Matt choked and took a step back.  
  
"What is it Matt?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"Nu-Nuthing much. It's just that symbol seems painfully familiar. Probably just my imagination." He said, laughing nervously.  
  
"You're a loser, Matt." Kive sighed.  
  
"At least I'm a clean loser now." Matt pointed out. Kive shook his head.  
  
"I'm embarrassed to know you, Matt." Kive groaned.  
  
"I return the affection." Matt sighed. Then they got back to looking at the symbol. Matt was totally familiar with it, but he didn't want to be wrong so he kept quiet about it.  
  
"Hey, this looks like that weapon you have." Kive said, after clearing away some dirt from the design. It had revealed a glaive like indent across the horizontal axis. "Try putting it in." Hotaru placed the glaive in. Suddenly they were encased in bright silver light.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
"Matt, Kive? Where are we?" Hotaru asked. No reply. "Kive? Matt?" Yet again, no reply came. "Hello? Anyone?" She called. This time she didn't expect an answer. She was all alone.  
  
She scanned the surroundings. She was in a room where the walls seem to have water running down them. She walked up to one and touched it. She felt cold water running down, over her hands.  
  
"How-?" She asked herself. She withdrew from the wall immediately. She looked down and saw that below her seemed to be fathoms of water. She gulped. Was she-?  
  
'Yes, you are walking on water,' A female disembodied voice sounded. Hotaru blinked. It seemed awfully familiar, but she just couldn't place it.  
  
"I...what have you done with my friends? I want them back here! Where are they?" She shouted.  
  
'calm down. They are safe. I am telling this to them too. I merely figured you would get through this a lot faster if you were separated. I do not like it, but I am REQUIRED to test you. I'm sorry. I do not make up the rules.'  
  
"Okay, just as long as they are okay. What do you want me to do? How are you going to test us?" Hotaru asked.  
  
'Hmm...well you do realize it has to be reasonably hard, right? If it weren't then it wouldn't be a very good test. I supposed I wouldn't go too hard on you though. Well, you'll find out very soon. Do you realize your friends can hear you?'  
  
"Really? Hi guys." She said, cheeks slightly red.  
  
'Okay, I must go now. I hope you can survive and make it to me. I have great faith in you.' The voice said kindly.  
  
"Wait! Wait!!!" Hotaru called, but the voice was gone. "Serves me right. I should have known that disembodied voices don't stick around for long."  
  
All of a sudden bubbles of water began to spring up from the ground. She backed off and put on the silence wall. The bubbles began to form shapes. All of a sudden the water melted off the newly formed shapes. She stuck out her tongue in disgust. They were a hideous mixture of sharks and humans, with gray rough flesh and human legs and arms that looked like they weren't on straight. And crooked eyes stretched across the plane of their face. They had deadly sharp looking spears and they began to start charging into the silence wall. She sighed and sat down, watching them uselessly bounce off. They were continually sprouting up from the water and soon the silence wall had been banged against the wall. All of a sudden her glaive fell over, scratching the wall right above the water line. She grabbed it again and let out a sigh. That scared her. She began to think some more. Defense wasn't getting her anywhere. All she was doing was delaying it and they were multiplying rapidly. There was a lot of water in the chamber. 'That's it!' She thought. She's had to go offense and if it got too tough she cold always put on the silence wall again. She took the silence wall and prepared for a fight for her life.  
  
She spun around taking care of a few of them, but only to be met by another batch. She swung and swung, but they only seemed to be getting greater. She was backed against the wall again. Swing after swing! It was never ending. That one lost a leg, this one lost a head, that one got impaled, but then she noticed something that almost boosted her hope. In a mad rush to get at her, some of the shark things were killing their allies. She put the silence wall back up, seeing as she was tired. She had been at this wild challenge for over ten minutes now. The silence wall got backed up against the same wall it had. She looked to the part the glaive had slashed, but could not find it. Then, slowly she looked up, and saw the mark right above her head. Had the water dropped? Of course! That was it! The monsters were composed of the water below and the more she killed the more the water would lower. She looked down. Somehow, the water looked less than it had when she had appeared here. Much less. She smiled. The floor actually seemed reachable. But then she sat there. As she realized that the water was slowly, but surely decreasing, though she wasn't doing anything. Sure, the shark things were killing themselves, but not that fast and not that many. She pondered on that for a little, but couldn't figure it out. Finally she got ready to fight again, strength renewed and she made the silence wall vanish.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
Meanwhile, the boys had been facing quite the same situation, though handling it somewhat different.  
  
"What's up with all the ugly, walking seaweed reincarnations?" Kive asked fighting them off.  
  
"I don't know. This is a test. Or maybe they're attracted to you. I do see a resemblance between them and you, Kive." Matt teased.  
  
"Oh, shut it Matt. I don't need any of your wise crack comments." Kive growled.  
  
"MY wisecrack comments? You're the one who usually makes the wisecrack comments, not me!" Matt argued. The two had been fighting diligently for about fifteen minutes now. They seemed to just keep coming. Matt felt like their efforts were futile. Were they doomed to die here? Matt shook off the though. They'd escape, somehow, some way. But why, oh why, was he stuck with Kive. The whole time they had been battling nonstop, the monsters and each other. Along with the delimbing and decapitating of the seaweed monsters, they had also been arguing the whole time. God, how Kive was annoying. But surprisingly, the monsters were more annoying than Kive, but not by much. Suddenly Matt was struck with an idea that could help them.  
  
"Why didn't I think of it sooner? Kive, cover me!" Matt shouted.  
  
"No! Why should I? So you can sit around like a bum while I work my butt off." Kive shouted back.  
  
"No, no! I promise this'll help us both." Matt called back.  
  
"Arg! Fine, whatever, but don't take long!" Kive said, giving in because he was tired. Oh what he wouldn't give for a nap. But not now. With Matt doing whatever loser thing he was going to do he had to work twice as hard. Had he more strength he wouldn't have trusted Matt. Matt ran back against the call and Kive heard him mutter something breaking Kive's concentration. He stared at Matt, not noticing the creature that was sneaking up to him, spear out and gleaming. Kive watched Matt concentrating hard on who knows what. Then for a few seconds it was quiet. Then suddenly Kive saw an ice blast shoot out from Matt's hands and whiz right past him.  
  
"Hey Matt! What are you trying to do? Kill me?" He shouted in rage.  
  
"Idiot! I just SAVED you. I don't know why I did though. Turn around" Matt growled and then sat down. Kive whirled around and came face to face with the blade of the seaweed's spear. Suddenly it all registered. If Matt had done the spell one second sooner he'd have a spear through his head. He gulped and shivered at the though. Or maybe it was just cold? Then he backed up and looked at the rest of the monsters and saw that they were all frozen and so was the water below them. Then he took a seat by Matt.  
  
"I hate to say it, but thanks. And don't think that I'm getting all nice and that we're friends now, you just saved our hides and also that was a bright idea. That's all so don't go getting any ideas or anything." Kive snarled. Matt smiled.  
  
"Of course. It's not like you'd ever want to be my friend, your highness." Matt joked.  
  
"Don't call me that." Kive growled heartlessly, eyes suddenly growing quite cold.  
  
"Gee, man, I was just kidding around." Matt said, staring at Kive in question. Kive shot him a glare and then let his tense look fade away. "Hey, Kive! Did you notice? It's like the water decreased by about ten feet. I can actually see the floor now! I wonder how that happened. Actually I think the water is actually decreasing below the ice. See, for some reason the water below the ice isn't touching it anymore. You can tell by just looking at it!" Matt said, partially to change the subject, partially because he just noticed it. Kive looked down and nodded.  
  
"You know what. I have a feeling that this room is connected to Hotaru's, wherever it is. I mean, why else would it decrease? She's probably killing monsters too. Dude, are you listening to me? Hey DORKWAD!" Kive shouted at Matt who was staring in question at the ceiling.  
  
"Don't call me a dork wad." Matt murmured, only half on earth.  
  
"What is it loser?" Kive asked staring at the ceiling. All he saw was the silver cross like thing.  
  
"You wouldn't understand me if I told you." Matt said, snapping out of his trance. "Kive, we should kill them. See, how about this. I freeze the water and we take a break.-"  
  
"But you already did that." Kive pointed out, cutting Matt off.  
  
"Yes, I know that. This is just a strategy. Then, after resting up we kill the frozen monsters with our swords, then I unfreeze the water and we let the monsters come up again. Then you buy me time and I freeze the water again and so one and so forth. Sound like a plan. Kive nodded and they both got up to put the plan in motion.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
(~About An Hour Later~)  
  
Finally there was no water left. None at all, save the water running down the walls, but that never seemed to run onto the ground. Hotaru walked up to the center where there was the same cross symbol. She stepped onto it and sat down. What was she supposed to do now. She looked around and saw that there was a door, but it was barred. So now what was she to do? She stood up and began to walk to it when she felt her leg get pulled out from under her. Surprised from the sudden impact on the floor she dropped her glaive. Suddenly she saw a seaweed vine come up from behind her and grab it. Then she felt herself get lifted up into the air. She stared down in horror as she hung upside down. There, below her was a hideous red eye with seaweed branching out from it. She screamed and screamed and screamed, but there was nothing anyone could do now. With out her glaive she was practically defenseless. Then suddenly she felt her energy begin to be leeched away from her. There was nothing she could do. She fought to keep her strength but it was only a matter of minutes before she slipped into unconsciousness.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
"Yes! Finally! I'm so drained!" Matt groaned.  
  
"Whatever. I'm perfectly fine." Kive boasted.  
  
"You weren't using up your magic." Matt pointed out. Kive shrugged. Then they both turned to a door. It was locked so they both stared to the center of the room and noticed a Grey lump begin to arise. They blinked as all of a sudden a shark/ human rose up.  
  
"Same technique?" Matt asked. Kive nodded. Kive began to dance around the creature, which followed him in frustration. Every once in a while Kive would slash its leg while Matt tried to summon up his magic. It was harder this time since he had used so much of it up. All of a sudden, before Kive realized it, the giant shark thing lifted up its leg and smashed it on top of him.  
  
"Matt! Help me damn you! He's SQUISHING ME!!!" Kive shouted, but Matt was concentrating. Then the ice beam shot out and froze over the beast. Then he began hacking it down, but since it was so big it didn't make much of a difference. Then Matt gave up and grabbed the sword. Then he launched the sword up as hard as he could and it found its mark in the creature's neck. The Shark let out a blood curdling death cry as it shriveled up and disintegrated. Kive lay there. He got up rubbing his back.  
  
"God Matt, take your time why don't you." Kive moaned.  
  
"I defeated it no thanks to you!" Matt shouted. Then all of a sudden his sword fell from the place the creature's neck had been and rushed down, hilt first, somehow finding the middle of Kive's head. The hilt slammed him hard.  
  
"OWWW!" Kive shouted, rubbing his head. The a treasure chest rose up from the ground. Matt lifted it up. It was a key. He walked over to the door with Kive behind him and unlocked it. The bars disappeared and they walked into the next room. All of a sudden Matt stopped dead in his tracks. A giant seaweed creature loomed above it, vines lashing out like thousands of whips. The leaves looking razor sharp. It had a giant eye that was a horrifying red. There, at its base though, was what had stopped Matt in his tracks. There lay a limp Hotaru, pale as snow. Matt's head suddenly was filled with only one thing. Save Hotaru. He rushed as fast as he could to his friend, ignoring the razor sharp leaves that lashed him and the bruises he received from the whipping vines. He slashed all that was in his way and climbed over vines that refused to cut. He then reached Hotaru who was with no energy and shielded her frail body with his own, constantly being thrashed at.  
  
Kive in the meantime ran over, being more careful. He had noticed Hotaru or where Matt had gone, but he did notice the monster. He inched towards it, but suddenly he was plucked up by one of its vines and then held above the colossal eye. But He had a trump card. He reached into the small bag at his side where he kept his copper coins. He then retrieved a dagger. He hurled it at the eye at shocking speed and it went all the way through. He heard a disturbing fizzing sound and slowly the vine that held him drooped until he was on the ground before shriveling up completely. Then he looked to where Matt and Hotaru were.  
  
"Matt?" Hotaru said weakly, eyes opening slowly. Then sat up. "Man, I'm sooo tired." She sighed. Then she stared at Matt and gasped. "Matt! Oh my gosh! What happened to you?" Hotaru cried. His face had little scratches here and there. His arms were covered in cuts. His shirt and jeans were badly torn and he had various bruises. "Y-You kept me safe." She said quietly. "Why?"  
  
"Because I don't want to lose you. And I wont. Not so easily." Matt smiled. "Anyways, it's just a few scrapes and cuts here and there." Kive ran over there after retrieving the dagger. All of a sudden a bright silver light engulfed the three of them and then all went white.  
  
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"Where are we?" Matt asked, still holding Hotaru close. Then they both instantly withdrew from each other blushing furiously. Kive was shooting Matt fierce glares.  
  
"Hello again, Hotaru." The blue haired silver-eyed maiden who had given her the bag called out. They all stared at her. "I'm sorry I had to test you, but it was required of me. Can you forgive me?" She asked.  
  
"It's okay. I forgive you." Hotaru said.  
  
"Me too." Matt said quietly.  
  
"Same here." Kive put in.  
  
"You passed, I'm glad to say. But I wasn't too hard on you because I like you guys." She smiled.  
  
"That wasn't hard?" Matt asked.  
  
"No, My sisters may not be so easy on you. See, none of you were too close to death, but you will be much more in the future." She said. They all stared in awe. "But here. I need to give you something." She held out a silver rectangle only a few centimeters aroung. Matt stared at it in shock.  
  
"Is that-" Matt said , totally sure.  
  
"Yes, Yamato, the crest of reliability. You must explain it to them." She said, smiling. "I have already given you your gift. The endless bag. My sisters will too give you gifts along with the crests." She said.  
  
"Your name's Yamato?" Kive asked.  
  
"That was out of nowhere. Yea, that's my name, but call me Matt." Matt sighed.  
  
"Wait! Kiyon said that people came here and they never came back out! What was that about?" She asked.  
  
"Well, you see...I have to get rid of them. It's required of me. But I'm supposed to test you. If you were anyone else I'd have no choice but to..." She said, solemnly. There was a long pause after that consisting of about everyone blinking, wondering what to say next.  
  
"Wait! That whole thing seemed hard to me!" Kive blurted out suddenly.  
  
"Well, did it take you that long?" She asked.  
  
"Well, I guess not that long." Kive shrugged.  
  
"Are any of you severely hurt?" She asked.  
  
"I feel really drained." Hotaru sighed.  
  
"I don't feel perfectly healthy." Matt muttered.  
  
"I got squished." Kive added in, sounding perfectly fine.  
  
"You'll survive." She sighed. "What I'm trying to say is that none of you are so hurt that you can't walk around anymore, but you might have to face that in the future."  
  
"Okay, we get it now." They all said in unison.  
  
"That was still hard." Kive whined.  
  
"Pipe down." Matt sighed.  
  
"But it was hard!"  
  
"Oh can't you just understand! It took you like minutes, NO, SECONDS to defeat the gigantic forms of the creatures! That's an alarmingly fast speed. C'mon! I mean, you could defeat a regular monster in that speed or even longer! Those monsters were JOKES!!!! I was going super easy on you guys for cripes sake!" She exploded. Then she settled down. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'm fine now. Well, I think I'll give you this now, but you may notice that more time passed more slowly here than out there." She said, dropping the crest in Matt's hands. "Bye." Then there was a bright flash and they were outside, among the ruins and rubble again.  
  
"That was stupid. We did all that for some gray rectangle with a cross on it!" Kive snarled.  
  
"It's much more important than that." Matt said softly. All eyes suddenly turned to him, demanding an explanation.  
  
"Okay, Okay, I'll tell you, but it's a long tale...."  
  
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PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!! Okay, sorri.  
  
1/29/03 How was it? I hope I didn't call people different things. This chapter was really rushed since I did practically all of it in one day. It was hard. There must be tons of mistakes but I want this posted. Sorry for the weirdness. I was rushed. 1/31/03 But today, I got to work on it more. It's still not what I want it to be but......yeah. Well, I smoothed it out a little from the last time. You have no idea how much my parents had been rushing to get me off. Anyways, I don't really know what to do for next chapter. Well, I have a faint idea. Well, I'm all alone here because my friends all went to Irvine spectrum. How fun for them. Well, I got to spend time with my mom! YAAAAY! And I got: CAPCOM VS. SNK!!! WHIPEEE!! Okay bye.  
  
SM: TWO DAYS TIL MY BIRTHDAY!!! WHAT DID YOU GET ME!!!  
  
Megumi: You shall find out on your birthday, most beloved minion.  
  
SM: Your not gonna call me that on my birthday right?  
  
Megumi: Of course not.  
  
SM: TWOOOOO DAYS!!! YIPEE!!! 


	9. Losses of Fire

YAAAY!!! CH.9!! Whoopee! I can't believe I've actually gotten that far! Wow! YAAAY!!! Are you guys happy too? Not as many people review anymore. But that's quite alright. I'm gonna write this and it's like gonna have over a hundred words! (I hope) Unless I become uninspired but there's no reason why that would happen. I'm starting this 1/31/03. YAY!  
  
SM: 2 DAYS!!! TWO DAYS!! WHAT DID YOU GET ME????  
  
Megumi: uhh....you'll have to find out yourself...on you birthday...not now.  
  
SM: PLEASE!! I'll act surprised on my birthday, even if you show it to me now.  
  
Megumi: It's not ready yet. It'll be ready on your b-day.  
  
SM: What? Is it not wrapped?"  
  
Megumi: Yea, that too. AND DON'T GO INTO MY ROOM TRYING TO FIND IT! IF YOU DO THEN EVEN THE FAIRIES IN MY CLOSET WON'T BE ABLE TO HELP YOU!!!  
  
SM: EEP! Note to self: stay away from Megumi's room.  
  
Megumi: If you even get CLOSE I'll have MP set his psychic wrath upon you! MWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!  
  
SM: NOOOO!! Not that!! You wouldn't do that to me two days before my birthday, right?  
  
Megumi: Go to my room and find out. *Evil grin*  
  
SM: O.O N-NOO THANKS!!!!  
  
Megumi: That's what I thought.  
  
Disclaimer thingee ma bee: I DO NOT own Digimon OR Sailor Moon. I DO own the story plot, Kive, and also all my other original characters. I ALSO own Shadow Matt. ^^  
  
SM: NOOO, you don't!!!  
  
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If Darkness Could Befriend Chapter 9: Losses of Fire  
  
Matt had finished telling them of the digidestined and they stood there, astonished. (I really expect you guys to know about Matt and the Digimon adventure. If not why are you reading this? Do you even understand? I sure hope so! ^_^)  
  
"You're lying aren't you?" Kive said, snobbishly.  
  
"C'mon! Like I could really make that up on the spot!" Matt argued, putting the crest carefully in his pocket.  
  
"I don't know; you're a very strange dude." Kive said, suspiciously.  
  
"Don't worry, I believe you Matt." Hotaru said, smiling.  
  
"Thanks Hotaru," Matt said, smiling at her. He then turned to Kive. "Hey Kive. I've been wondering the whole time. I assume you killed the monster. I was too busy so I couldn't really see, but I know you must have because if you hadn't then it wouldn't have died. So how'd you do it?" Matt asked. (GASPO! You have NO IDEA how much I want to write Maar...*Sniff, sniff*)  
  
"With this." Kive said, pulling out the small dagger. Matt stared at him, awed. It looked very intricate, dark, and deadly.  
  
"It looks really sharp." Matt murmured reaching out to touch it. Kive pulled it away quickly.  
  
"It is. My brother gave it to me." He said. "It's really important to me." He said, darkly. Matt and Hotaru looked at each other. They both wanted to ask Kive about his brother but they both knew it must be very personal if the small dagger was so important to him. They both shrugged and decided not to ask. Suddenly they heard a bunch of cries coming from the direction of the town. They all blinked. Suddenly Kiyon appeared.  
  
"SOMEONE!!! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!! THE RULER'S ATTACKING OUR VILLAGE!!! PLEASE! HELP!!" Kiyon cried. Suddenly they were all serious. They all ran over to Kiyon, worry sparking in their eyes.  
  
"Kiyon! What happened?" Hotaru said, voice seeping with dread.  
  
"Hotaru...I thought you were dead. You've been gone for over a day now. And then, about fifteen minutes ago the ruler came and attacked Delra and now it's on fire!" He cried, clinging to her skirt, little crystalline tears falling from his eyes. A day? They had been gone a whole day now? What the heck was going on? And why was the ruler attacking?  
  
"Kiyon, stay here. We'll go back and see what we can do." Hotaru commanded sternly.  
  
"But...but I don't wanna be eaten up bye the ruins!" He cried.  
  
"Don't worry, just don't go on the cross in the center and you should be fine. Oh gosh, please say we can help." She said, rushing away. Kiyon stared after her with worry. Matt patted him on the head.  
  
"We'll do our best to help." Matt said encouragingly and raced after Hotaru. Kive just shrugged and ran after them. Kiyon fidgeted around. He hadn't seen his brother. What if he hadn't gotten away? Kiyon banished the feeling. His brother was fine. He would escape and fine him and everything would be all right again. Or so little Kiyon thought.  
  
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Hotaru, Matt, and Kive stared in shock as flames leapt up from every single building. The vile orange peril was licking at all it could reach, catching it too in its heat. Black pillars of smoke rose everywhere clouding the sky, making their throats feel raspy and parched and clouding their vision and spring tears from their eyes. They searched around, anarchy ringing out everywhere. People were fleeing by the cluster, pushing their way out while the group pushed their way in. Matt glanced around. The heat was reopening his many cuts, causing little pangs of pain here and there, but the biggest pang of pain was knowing that he couldn't really help. It was like a furnace here. Using the ice spell here would be like throwing and ice cube into an oven. Why the heck was this happening? What exactly were they looking for? Hakiyo? Possibly. Hotaru, Matt, and, even though slightly, Kive had all hoped he had gotten out. But it was something else. They were trying to find the ruler. Get revenge for destroying the peace. Try to make him solve the disaster, make him compensate for this heinous dead. There were many reasons.  
  
After several minutes they emerged in the square where Matt and Kive had fought and where Hotaru had helped Hakiyo with the bully. There, in the midst of the fire, stood the ruler, a sinister smirk wiped across his handsome face. Then he caught sight of the soot covered, wheezing, and teary-eyed trio. His smirk disappeared, replaced bye an indifferent stare.  
  
"Give me the crest of Reliability." He commanded sternly. He definitely meant business.  
  
"And if we refuse?" Matt coughed.  
  
"Then I'll take it by force. But I don't see the point. How about you just run along and do whatever fools like you do? Just give me the crest and run along." He mocked.  
  
"No." Hotaru said sternly. He tilted his head at her.  
  
"You don't have it. Don't talk to me." He said to Hotaru while advancing in Matt's direction. Matt stood his ground while he pulled out his sword, radiating with blue light.  
  
"You want to fight me? Want me to cut of your head too?" He retorted, pulling out his deadly blade, a few yards away. Suddenly, in a matter of seconds, he was on Matt, there swords meeting with a clang. Matt stumbled back from the sudden surprise. Suddenly he reached forward and quickly withdrew his arm. Then he jumped back. Matt regained his balance and then stared in anger, seeing that he was boasting the bottomless bag.  
  
"GIVE IT!" Matt shouted.  
  
"No. Not until I get what I want." He said icily while reaching his hand into the bag. He touched something and flinched. He wrapped his hand around it and pulled it up, grimacing from the pain. It seemed to Matt that he was being burned. He opened his hand once it was back, revealing the crest. Suddenly it flashed with a brilliant silver light. The ruler shielded his eyes and dropped the crest and bag, stifling a shout. Matt blinked. It didn't seem to affect him. He stared at the ruler as the light died away. In the glove he had been holding the crest it had apparently burned through, because Matt could see the singed edge cloth of the glove that peeled away from raw flesh. The ruler glared at crest in pure revulsion, as if trying to get it o tremble in fear. He shot a quick, powerful lightning spell at it, but as the smoke cleared and the crest was undamaged. He continued to stare at it.  
  
"Stupid thing. I guess I'll have to wait until they're all together." He snarled bitterly. Then his gazed shifted to Matt and Hotaru, completely ignoring Kive. " Collect them for me, fools, and I shall collect them when the time comes." He directed in pure menace. "It does not make a difference to me when I get them, but sooner or later I will. That means you live for now. Once you serve me no more purpose I'll be sure to kill you, slow and painfully. You'll never be able to defeat me anyways."  
  
"We'll see about that! We'll show you! We'll defeat you and then we'll see who's mocking who then!" Hotaru shouted. The whole time Kive stayed peculiarly quiet, which was abnormal with him, being as talkative as he was.  
  
"Answer me one thing." Matt spoke up. "Why did you do this?"  
  
"Why? Why? Hah." He quipped. "Do you nothing of power? This pitiful village is in my territory, thus I can do whatever I please with it. And anyways, it served its purpose. To draw you to it when I destroyed it. That was all it was good for to me. It was a useless, rebelling little town filled with rats and other such pests you insist on calling people. Good enough for you?" He said. Matt opened his mouth to speak but he was suddenly gone. Matt glared at the spot he stood. All of a sudden a smoldering beam from the cottage next to them fell down in front of them.  
  
"C'mon, Let's go." Kive said, awoken from his period of silence. He turned on his heals and fled. Hotaru glanced back and did the same. Matt ran over and grabbed the bag and crest and held them. The crest definitely didn't burn him. Then he snapped out of his thoughts, realizing the fire was spreading quicker at the ruler's leave. He jumped back over the fiery beam and raced after Hotaru and Kive.  
  
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It had been a whole day. All of the surviving villagers that the trio knew had fled to other villages that were on good terms with the ruler, fearing that the events of the day before would be repeated. Many had been in tears. Many had lost loved ones, precious possessions, and fortune. Every single one had lost their home. It all rested there in piles of ashes. Matt, Hotaru and Kive went back to Kiyon and found that he had not found his brother. They were all grieving the loss. The loss of Hakiyo, the loss of Delra, and just all the loss in general. Hotaru now had more hatred towards the ruler than he had when she first heard of him. He had taken many innocent lives in cold blood for the sake of drawing them out. They could all not help feeling slightly guilty. Hotaru vowed then and there that she would collect all the crests and show the ruler what she could do, for the sake of the people who's lives had been lost or destroyed. Matt had been abnormally silent since then and so had Kive. Hotaru couldn't blame them. She hadn't been in much of a talking mood herself.  
  
"Kiyon?" She said quietly.  
  
"Yea?" He asked, innocent voice tainted with pain.  
  
"I don't know if your brother's coming back. If you'd like you can go with us." She said, smiling.  
  
"Yeah, kiddo. We'll take care of you. Your brother probably escaped. He's cool like that! For now, just hang with us and maybe we'll come across him on our journey. And if we don't I promise I'll help search after this is all done. And believe me, we're going to make it through this, so when we do I'll help search for your brother if we haven't found him already. I refuse to leave without doing that." Matt said with fake hope, finally speaking for the first time this morning. His brotherly instincts had kicked in. Anyways, Hakiyo had been as close to a buddy as Matt suspected he'd let anyone get. He felt it as a duty. Kiyon stared up at Matt with hope shining in his blue eyes. He looked so different from his brother, Hakiyo. The kid had blue eyes and messy blonde hair, which so reminded Matt of his own little brother, Takeru. That settled it. He would help take care of Kiyon for his brother, in case he ever returned  
  
"Yeah! What Matt said. We'll take care of you until you find brother!" She said, falsely happy. Kiyon smiled at her and hugged her.  
  
"What about the scary guy? He isn't gonna eat me, is he?" Kiyon asked, eying Kive.  
  
"Don't worry kid. I don't plan on eating you." Kive teased, finally talking, but still oddly serious. Kiyon frowned at him. Kive made a face at him, breaking the seriousness. Kiyon's frown turned into a smile instantly. And so a new addition was added to their little renegade group.  
  
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The ruler rubbed his hands painfully. The stupid crest had burned him. He looked at the burn. It still hurt, but it wasn't serious. He thought to the crew. He despised Matt, just for opposing him so daringly. The boy had too much courage. He'd kill him first once they collected all the crests. Hotaru, the girl had lots of darkness. He could use her, though he didn't like her at all. She could lead to Matt's downfall, and once he was rid of Matt he would then, in turn, kill her. The other boy, he didn't know. He had remained oddly silent. What would he do with him? He'd probably kill him as well. He seemed oddly familiar though. He'd have to find out more about him. He'd find out about all of them. He began to plot. He had an idea. Something that would lead to their downfall. He laughed. They thought they could stand up against him. They were all pitiful fools. He'd learn about them, then he'd crush them like bugs and he had just the plan to do it.  
  
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Soo...was it okay? Sort of short, I know. There wasn't too much to do with this chapter thus there is not much. But I refuse to post this until Lynn and Sairi review so I'm still waiting. If they have read it their reviews aren't showing up. Oh well. I'm bored. I need to go to sleep. But first I'm gonna read a little of Kel's series. Read Tamora Peirce. It's GOOD!! My favorite so far was Lioness Quartet! YOU RULE ALANNA! Okay...sorry. Please read Fate's Games! And please tell me what you think about all the character and stuff. Please? And I don't mind long reviews! ^_^ they are actually quite fun. I'm scared my mom will catch me. I was supposed to go off at 9:30 and it's like 10:00. Oh well. Please review! I love hearing all your comments! Please tell me what you think! Oh...if you like Tamora Peirce too you should read my friend's fan fiction. She writes super good! Her account is ThePenMage...okay? OKAY!!! She like has over 300 reviews! WOW!! I NEVER expect to get that far. NYAAAA! 


	10. Knowledge

Disclaimer thing: I DON'T OWN DIGIMON OR SAILOR MOON!! LA LALALA LA! I feel so up, up, up! Do YOU own them? LA LALALA! Okay, sorry. I'm being happy. Shadow Matt and I just ate a bunch of donuts! WEEEEE!!! I wrote an angsty/ stupid poem when Lynn was mad at me. If anyone's interested please e-mail me about it at Sleepy_Shadow_Mistress@Hotmail.com...please? Okay, sorry for wasting your time.  
  
Chapter 10! Yaaay! WOW!!! I'm on chapter ten!! WOW!! How are you guys? I'm fine! Today I learned my colors in Japanese! If you wanna know you can ask me! ^_^ I'd be very glad to teach you some...though I'm not too good myself. Japanese Level 1 is so fun at my school! We have a cool teacher. Tomorrow is a field trip! Whoopee! Are you not happy for me? I get to not run the mile! HAHAHAHAH! Blessed Museum of Tolerance, I promise to respect you and try my best to learn from you for providing me with an opportunity to miss school. *Bows* Okay, sorry. Just to let you know, THANKS FOR REVIEWING!!!! Also, this chapter will probably end up as a bunch of B.S., seeing as I have NOOO idea what to write. Gomen nasai. The before chapter was PAINFULLY short! It was like the first one, though longer, but it was STILL short. I'm sorry about that. I was really rushed. I mean, REALLY rushed. It was sort of stupid too. I know the quality versus quantity thing but the last chapter was lacking on both. I'm greatly sorry for that. Don't be mad at me....  
  
SM: PUT ME IN THIS CHAPTER!!! YOU'VE PUT IT OFF LONG ENOUGH!!  
  
Megumi: *Mutters* since when did minions command around their masters...*Clears throat while glaring at SM*  
  
SM: Oh, sorry! PLEASE, PLEASE!! Put me in!  
  
Megumi: Well, I don't know. I suppose I don't have much to do with this one, and I AM sort of down on brainpower, but I'm always low on that. I'm down on ideas. There we go. I guess I COULD put you in. MAYBE!! WE SHALL SEE!  
  
SM: Yeah!  
  
Megumi: Now, how to put SM in with an embarrassing way. I'm gonna make fun of you! *Laughs and points at poor little SM*  
  
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If Darkness Could Befriend Chapter 10: Knowledge  
  
They had been traveling through the forest for what seemed like a while. It was the night four days after the day the whole Delra incident had occurred. They had taken a long time to travel to the next ruins, though their road was somewhat untroubled. Everyone had been less talkative, all trying to forget the destruction. But the trio had been curious about what had happened. Matt had gotten some use of his fire magic, seeing as they had needed a fire to cook on. Kive played around with a stick, poking it into the fire over and over again subconsciously. He had lost his fire for arguing senselessly with Matt a while back. He felt horrible for what had happened of course. He wasn't a complete jerk. But there was something else. The ruler seemed familiar. Sure, he had heard of him, even heard him talk before at his home, but he had never seen him until the day before. Kive never pictured him as the guy he had seen, though now that Kive thought about it, the guy did fit the position. Well, that was what he supposed. He glanced over at Kiyon. 'Poor kid,' he thought, shaking his head. He knew what it was like to lose an older brother. He continued on his deep train of thought.  
  
"Kive?" Hotaru warned, voice slightly panicked. Kive looked over at her, tilting his head in question. His eyes narrowed, seeing Matt let out a snicker in the background.  
  
"Y-your sleeve." She said in worry. Kive glanced down at his sleeve and stared at it for a few seconds. His arm was awfully warm.... Then it registered! His sleeve was on fire!!!  
  
"AAAH!!!! SOMEBODY HELP PUT IT OUT!!!! Kive shouted, dancing around the fire, slapping his sleeves madly. Kiyon and Matt had bursted out in laughter. Hotaru let out a giant sigh. "SOMEONE HELP!!!" He demanded. Matt stood up, still cracking up.  
  
"H-hold s-still!" He quivered, his words shaky with laughter.  
  
"No!!! Are you crazy?" Kive called out, still running around like mad. Matt sighed.  
  
"Well, then. If you aren't going to stand still..." Matt said, smirking. He used a water spell, drenching Kive totally and completely. Kive felt himself get totally soaked. Matt didn't have to drench him completely! Now he was sopping wet! He sent a rage filled glare at Matt.  
  
"Why did you do that?" Kive snapped angrily.  
  
"I can't just hit your arm when your running around that fast so I had to hit all of you. I warned you to stop." Matt pointed out, voice filled with mirth.  
  
"Ooh. I knew you wanted to do that." Kive growled in rage.  
  
"Well, whether I did or I didn't I had to anyways. I mean, you were the one yelling for help." Matt chuckled. Kive clenched and unclenched his fists as he continued to narrow his eyes at Matt.  
  
"I don't see what's so funny." Kive snarled.  
  
"What? It was your fault. Though I must say, it was very funny seeing you just sit there as the fire went up the stick and onto your arm. You just sat there as your sleeve continued to smoke. I know that if it happened to me, you would laugh." Matt pointed out.  
  
"It's only funny when it happens to you." Kive said, arrogantly.  
  
"What ever you want to believe Kive." Matt shrugged. "So where are we headed to next, oh mister 'I know the land better than all of you since I live in it'?" Matt mocked.  
  
"Where the map takes us." Hotaru said, pulling up the map Kiyon had gave them.  
  
"I didn't know you had that! Where'd you get it?" Matt said.  
  
"I gave it to her." Kiyon said timidly.  
  
"Oh..." Matt said. "Can I see it?" Matt asked.  
  
"I don't know Matt. Are you gonna let go of it this time. I recall giving you a certain bottomless bag and for some reason never getting it back." Hotaru teased.  
  
"Aww.....come one Hotaru! I'll give it back." Matt laughed. Hotaru smiled and gave the map to him. Kive shot glares of jealousy over at Matt. He didn't hate Matt like he did when he first met him, but he wouldn't exactly call them friends either. Kive didn't get it. They could have only known each other for a few days because they didn't even know about Delra when he met them. How had Matt gotten so close to her? Sure, Kive liked her. He had liked her since the first time he saw her. He didn't know why. It was just sort of a spark he guessed. He had only known her for a few days too, but Hotaru really didn't seem to like him back. Sure, she was nice to him, but he was only just a friend to her. Not that she was head over heals in love with Matt but...  
  
"Aha! I think we should go to the crest of Sincerity next since we're closer to that than anyone else." Matt said, showing them all on the map.  
  
"If you knew that the ruins were that of your crest things then why didn't you tell us? Just hog the information to yourself why don't you?" Kive grumbled.  
  
"Well, something is still confusing me. I only know of eight crests. Like I said, there are eight digidestined that I know off." Matt said. (A/N: This being season one Matt works to my plan perfectly, along with the fact that I love season one Matt! See, he doesn't know about Kaiser....what my friends and I call the Digimon emperor...and about Ken and the ninth crest and stuff. Wee! I didn't even realize how well that would work out!)  
  
"Which one is it, Matt?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"That one..." Matt said, finger extending to a purplish pink symbol above some ruins. Kive squinted at it and shuddered. "What's your problem Kive?" Matt asked. Kive shuddered again. Matt would probably say they had to go to that one after Knowledge, which was right after Sincerity, which was where they were going next! He sighed, staring at the little town besides it. He'd be returning home sooner than he thought.  
  
"That's the ruins for Kindness." Kive sighed.  
  
"Kindness? Never heard of that one...that's pretty neat. How did you know?" Matt asked.  
  
"I know everything, Matt... you should know that by now." Kive said pompously. Matt rolled his eyes.  
  
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"So this isn't a free village?" Kiyon whispered in awe as the four peaked from the bushes at the town.  
  
"Isn't it obvious? Can't you see all the soldiers there in red and black uniform?" Kive hissed, rolling his eyes. Kiyon nodded timidly.  
  
"Leave the kid alone Kive..." Matt commanded.  
  
"Make me!" Kive challenged, each of their voice managing to raise with each new sentence.  
  
"Be quiet! You're going to get all the guards to notice us!" Hotaru snapped in a whispered. Everyone fell silent.  
  
"How about we go back into the forest and plot how to do things..." Matt proposed in a hushed voice.  
  
"That's a stupid idea, Matt." Kive said, just for the sake of disagreeing.  
  
"Kive, you know it's a good idea..." Hotaru sighed, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Did I say stupid? I meant, it was a great idea...Matt! Why did you say it was stupid!" Kive said, falsely angrily. Matt stared at him in total aggravation.  
  
"Kive, you know I didn't say that MY OWN IDEA was stupid..." Matt said, rolling his eyes. Kive just gave him a wolfish grin.  
  
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"So maybe we can sneak by the guards to the ruins of Sincerity." Hotaru said. Matt and Kive nodded. "So either that or we fight them to get there, considering that they are probably guarding the entrance. Ahh! He wants us to collect the crests for him, but he's not going to make it easy for us! I don't get him.... So what do you guys wanna do?" Hotaru asked. They had gotten to a clearing in the forest where they had set up camp and they were all sitting down.  
  
"What about me?" Kiyon shouted, waving his arms desperately.  
  
"You can sit here like old squash..." They all stared at Kive in bewilderment. "What? It was the first thing that popped into my head!" Kive defended.  
  
"I think what Kive meant to say was that you should wait here and we'll get you after we're finished, which isn't a bad idea, considering that it'll be dangerous and we don't want you to get hurt." Hotaru pointed out.  
  
"Hate to disagree with you, Hotaru, but remember what happened last time? We were gone for a day and we didn't even realize it! We can't leave the kid here for a day! You don't want that, right kid?" Matt asked.  
  
"Yea! I don't want to stay here for a day! What will I eat?" Kiyon groaned.  
  
"Matt, stop coming up with stupid ideas. Kid, stop being so selfish. You can survive a day with out eating!" Kive said. Matt and Kiyon both rolled their eyes.  
  
"Let's see how happy you are after spending a day with out eating." Kiyon grumbled.  
  
"Kive! We can't starve the kid!" Hotaru protested, stopping Kive in the middle of his pounce to tackle Kiyon. She glared at him. Kive looked at her and slunk down low.  
  
"I'm sorry! The kid gets all the food he wants!" Kive whimpered. Hotaru smiled. All of a sudden their little meeting was interrupted by a sudden crash in the bushes. Their gazes were all suddenly averted to the bushes and in an instant they were all standing.  
  
"Shoot." They heard someone whisper from the bushes. The voice sounded awfully familiar to the four of them. They all rushed to the bushes, but no one was there. They all blinked.  
  
"Uh...is somebody there?" Hotaru asked. No reply. Matt swung around sensing something go behind them. There was nothing. Matt blinked, tilting his head. He had sworn he had felt something go this way. Maybe it was just some weird fluke. He turned back to stare at the bushes again, but spun around glimpsing something suddenly disappear into the shadow. Matt drew his sword.  
  
"I know you're there, whatever you are..." Matt growled, glaring at the shadow. Hotaru, Kive, and Kiyon all spun around and stared at where Matt was staring.  
  
"Matt, there's nothing there...." Kive rolled his eyes and looked back. "I think we should search the forest." Kive proposed. Hotaru and Kiyon nodded.  
  
"Matt?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"Huh? What? Oh, I'll stay here. You know someone has to guard our camp, right?" He said, smiling at her. She stared at him, worried, but then turned to Kiyon and Kive and sighed, watching them argue.  
  
"I get to go with her! I'm younger! I need protection!" Kiyon growled.  
  
"Not a chance, kid! Go by yourself!" Kive demanded.  
  
"No! You're mean! You go by yourself if you're so good!" He challenged.  
  
"What, and you can't go by yourself? Stay here with Matt!" Kive shouted.  
  
"You two go together." Hotaru spoke up. Matt snickered.  
  
"Do we HAVE to?" The two chorused. Hotaru nodded. They both groaned. Then they headed off into the forest. As soon as they were gone Matt turned to the spot. He believed it was still there, whatever it was.  
  
"Are you in the shadow?" Matt asked suspiciously. "Just come out and if it's a fight you want then we can just get it over with." Matt sighed. Suddenly it, or more like he, popped out. He was an all black mirror image of Matt. All the color contrast on Matt, were contrast in different shades of black and gray. Matt stared at his dark twin. His dark self eyed Matt's sword and backed away. Then looked down at his hand and squinted as if reading something.  
  
"I...was...sent to...what's that word? Light? No....no.....right? It looks a lot like right, but I don't think that's quite it. Maybe it's tight. It could be that too. Naw, I don't think so. No, wait...fight! Yea, it's fight. I was sent to fight you.....by....the ruler." He said, squinting some more to see if he was right. Matt sweatdropped. It was almost comical. "I...cannot.....what does that say? ARG! I CAN'T EVEN READ MY OWN WRITING!!! What in the world does that say? It looks like aloe. Man, next time I should use a less smearable pencil." He sighed.  
  
"Lemme see your hand." Matt offered. His mirror lifted up his hand and allowed him to read. "It says: I was sent to fight you by the ruler. I cannot allow you to get the crest of Sincerity. Battle me." Matt read unenthusiastically. The other Matt blushed.  
  
"I have to fight you...." He said.  
  
"Are you sure? You don't really seem like you want to fight me." Matt said, sounding skeptical.  
  
"Man, I feel so useless." He groaned. "You know what. Let's just screw fighting. How about we just not fight and we can be friends. I'm Shadow Matt." Matt said, holding out his hand.  
  
"Yea, sure. I'm Matt." Matt said, shaking his hand. "So why did you come here in the first place?" Matt asked.  
  
"He sent me to kill you, but I can't. It's too horrible to kill someone else, especially if they're your unshadowed self." He sighed. Matt nodded.  
  
"Wow! I didn't know there was a shadow me...so you can go into shadows?" Matt asked.  
  
"Yeah. Special ability. Gosh, I'm such a failure. I'm a joke." Shadow Matt sighed. He began to walk over to a rock to sit down but slipped and crashed into another bush.  
  
"So it WAS you! You're pretty clumsy!" Matt laughed.  
  
"It's a curse." Shadow Matt sighed. "So when do you think your friends are coming back?" Shadow Matt asked.  
  
"I think I see them now." Matt said squinting into the forest. Matt was right. Pretty soon Hotaru, Kiyon, and Kive emerged. Kive took one look at Shadow Matt and groaned.  
  
"Not another Matt!" He moaned. Shadow Matt looked down dejectedly.  
  
"Nice to meet you too." He sighed. "What's your name?" Shadow Matt asked him, trying hard to be nice.  
  
"You don't deserve to know." Kive barked out. Shadow Matt sighed.  
  
"Hi." He said to Hotaru.  
  
"Hi. Ignore Kive. He's just being mean because, well I don't really know why." She returned.  
  
"He's just sore because I beat him at rock, paper, scissors. He's a sore loser. My brother taught me that game. He said he learned it from Matt. It's a super fun game, except when you're playing with sour people like KIVE!" Kiyon accused.  
  
"Rock, Paper, Scissors? What's that?" Shadow Matt murmured, curiously.  
  
"Pipe down you little brat! I don't know how but I know you and Matt are both cheating!" He roared. Kiyon and Matt stuck their tongues out at Kive in unison. Kive glared at them.  
  
"Anyways, I do have a name, and it's not BRAT or kid, like people around here keep calling me! I'm Kiyon." He said, cheerily.  
  
"And I'm Hotaru. It's nice to meet you. Hey...you have something written in white on your glove." She said, peering at his hand in curiosity. "What is that....I.....have..." She began to read. Shadow Matt instantly his hand behind his back and began to wipe it furiously on his pants. He finally succeeded. Then he and Matt caught each other's glances and they began to laugh. It had been an interesting meeting. They gathered up again after some more introductions.  
  
"Hey, Shadow Matt, do you have any ideas on how we could get in there?" Hotaru asked, after the meeting had been put underway once again. Shadow Matt nodded.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
"Wow! Traveling in the shadows is fast!" Kiyon laughed.  
  
"It is? Yeah, you're right!" Shadow Matt said, smiling kindly.  
  
"Kiyon's right...we're almost there. Just a little more." Matt said, looking up and seeing the real world. "That's cool. It's like the world from a different view."  
  
"Big whoop." Kive muttered.  
  
"Kive, stop being so sour. I don't know what's been getting you so down lately!" Hotaru commanded. Kive nodded and they reached the area and popped up. The guards all had their back to them. Hotaru heard Matt mutter, 'suckers.' She snickered. They were right in front of the big symbol that resembled a green teardrop.  
  
"The crest of Sincerity. Now, I'm sure this is all for real. Man, I thought I'd never have to go through these kinds of things again." He whispered with a groan. They studied it, seeing what they had to do here. In the circle inside the tear drop there was an indentation for some sort of heart-shaped stone and in the teardrop was an indentation for some sort of dagger. They all stood there. "Shadow Matt, could you pull us back in?" Matt asked, voice hushed.  
  
"What do we do now? I know something has to go into those weird indentations. I know we don't have anything. Or at least I don't think we have anything like that! Do we Hotaru?" Matt asked. Hotaru shook her head no.  
  
"Kive?" Matt asked. "You're the only one I know has a dagger." Matt sighed.  
  
"Don't look at me! Mine's smaller than that! Don't you think I checked? And I don't have a stone thing." He sighed.  
  
"Shadow Matt?" Matt asked.  
  
"Sorry. I don't think I have anything like that." Shadow Matt said, shaking his head. They all sighed.  
  
"Wait! I was just kidding! I think I may have something!" Hotaru said. She motioned for Matt to give her the bag. He handed it over and she disappeared into it. Shadow Matt and Kiyon blinked in total confusion.  
  
"Where did she go?" Kiyon asked.  
  
"Into the bag." Matt and Kive both shrugged at the same time. They glared at each other.  
  
"Don't copy me!" They both shouted in unison.  
  
"Fine! Whatever!" They both said, sitting down in perfect harmony. Kiyon and Shadow Matt began to laugh.  
  
"Do it again! Do it again!" Kiyon shouted in glee.  
  
"No!" They both said again. The other two laughed even harder. Just then, Hotaru popped out.  
  
"Huh? What's so funny? I don't see what's so funny!" She said. They all turned to her.  
  
"Never mind." Matt said. Then he smiled.  
  
"Aww, man! It stopped. That was pretty funny too!" Kiyon laughed. Shadow Matt nodded. Hotaru blinked.  
  
"Nothing happened Hotaru. So? What did you get?" Matt asked. Hotaru held up a heart shaped, lavender stone. "Wow! Looks like a perfect fit! You're smart, Hotaru! So how did you get that?" He asked.  
  
"Well, you see, it's part of my sailor uniform." She pointed out. They all blinked curiously. "Um...never mind; I'll explain later." She promised. They all nodded. Then Shadow Matt popped them up into the surface and Hotaru put the stone in, perfect fit. "I guess we need the dagger too." She sighed. No one noticed Kiyon peering inquisitively at the dagger indent.  
  
"Shadow Matt...! Pull us back in." Kiyon demanded in a whisper. Shadow Matt pulled them back in.  
  
"Guys! I've seen that dagger before! It's Hakiyo's!" Kiyon said excitedly. The trio's eyes fell down to the ground, leaving Shadow Matt to wonder, though he didn't ask. No use reopening wounds, right? "No you guys! Don't you understand? You need him to open this thing so he HAS to be alive, right? MY BROTHER'S ALIVE!!! YAAAY!!" Kiyon yelled in utmost bliss. They all couldn't help but smile. Then Kiyon turned to Shadow Matt.  
  
"Yea, Kiyon?" Shadow Matt asked.  
  
"Jump with me!" He commanded happily, whilst taking Shadow Matt's hands and jumping up and down.  
  
"Uh...uh, do I have to?" Shadow Matt said, embarrassed. Kiyon nodded. Shadow Matt began jumping up and down with him, face totally scarlet with embarrassment. He let out a sigh. Kive began laughing his lungs out at them and Matt and Hotaru couldn't help but crack a smile.  
  
"So, we have to find Hakiyo to open the ruins and to do that it means he has to be alive, right?" Matt said, bringing it up again. "So until we find him we can't open the ruins. So let's go to the others first and then, if we haven't found him then, then we search for him and then we can come back here. So let's go!" Matt said. Then he heard a crash and turned to face Kiyon and Shadow Matt and saw Shadow Matt, face flat on the ground.  
  
"WHAT A LOSER!" Kive bursted out, rolling on the ground while occasionally pointing and laughing at Shadow Matt.  
  
"Are you okay?" Hotaru said, trying to stifle a smile. "Kive, stop laughing so hard! It's not nice."  
  
"You okay?" Kiyon asked, poking at Shadow Matt. Matt sighed and walked over, helping Shadow Matt up.  
  
"I'm fine! I just...sort of.....tripped again." He said, humiliated. His cheeks were burning bright red and he was trying to look away in shame.  
  
"You really are clumsy." Matt said, shaking his head, smiling. Shadow Matt smiled back and then turned to stare at Kive.  
  
"Uh...no offense but you look sort of stupid rolling on the ground like that." Shadow Matt said, clearing his throat. Kive stopped and stood up.  
  
"Are you picking a fight with me?" Kive growled. Shadow Matt shook his head, no. Kive glared at him. "That's right. You know I'd probably beat you in five seconds. It's too embarrassing for you." Kive said, giving him a pat on the shoulder. Shadow Matt sighed and shrugged his hands off.  
  
"No...I think I can take you, I just don't want to embarrass you in front of your friends." Shadow Matt said. Kive GLARED at him. "BUT THE MAIN REASON...eheheh.....is because I don't like fighting." Shadow Matt pointed out, smiling nervously. Kive seemed to accept that. Shadow Matt let out a relieved sigh.  
  
"You really should stand up for yourself." Matt said, pulling him to the side when Kive had gone to sit next to Hotaru.  
  
"But you shouldn't fight, unless you have a good reason." Shadow Matt pointed out. Matt nodded.  
  
"That's very true, but sometimes, as you'll probably come to learn, it's very hard with Kive." Matt sighed.  
  
"Why does he not like me?" Shadow Matt asked.  
  
"Probably cuz you look a lot like me." Matt pointed out. "And I KNOW he doesn't like me." Then he raised his voice for the others to hear, "We should go to the ruins of Knowledge." They all nodded.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
They had gotten there in six days. It would have been five, but they took a lot of breaks and Shadow Matt continued to trip. Also, they hadn't traveled in shadow because Kive had insisted that walking was better and that he liked seeing the world from this view better. The village around it was abandoned for some unknown reason. They decided not to hang around to find out why and they immediately went searching for the ruins. They had found it easily and in the centerline of the two circles was an indent for Matt's sword. Matt placed it in and there was a giant flash of light. This time they were all together, in the start of a giant maze.  
  
"Great! A maze! I always hated these when I was a kid..." Hotaru sighed, stressed out.  
  
'Excuse me, but may I ask why you have entered my sphere of influence?' Asked a smart sounding disembodied voice.  
  
"Not this again!" Hotaru, Matt and Kive all groaned.  
  
'Oh, I see. You are the ones I am to put through trial, is that satisfactory?'  
  
"Yeah. Are you going to go easy on us? We're tired from walking." Matt sighed.  
  
'No. Oh yes, and you may meet an unexpected guest of mine. I did not request him, but he had passed my maze so I must permit him to remain here. You must understand. Good luck.' Then it was gone.  
  
"Let's get started." Matt sighed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~  
  
Hotaru breathed heavily and clinging tightly to Kiyon's hand. How they had all gotten captured, she did not know. At first they had been wandering aimlessly through countless turns. No one knew where they were going and how they could find out. They figured they were doomed to wander in the corridors forever. Then from the tops of the maze walls had sprung down three massive yellow cats that Hotaru would have loved to cuddle had they not been gigantic, covered in spikes, and absolutely dangerous. It was all the group could do to dodge random bolts of lightning that came from the beasts. They were being chased by the three when they came across a three-way fork. She wasn't totally sure. They had no ways of reading each other's minds. But she believed she had noticed Matt go left, Kive and Shadow Matt go right, and her and Kiyon had just kept on running straight. She was dead tired after darting this way and that to keep from the creature. She thought they had lost it, but she was sure that they had lost themselves too. How were they ever going to find the others? All of a sudden she heard Kiyon shout and she felt his hand start to tug her arm. She looked down and saw some sort of beetle pulling at him. She began to shriek at the sight of it and plummeted it with her glaive until it went limp and dropped off Kiyon. Kiyon breathed hard, but then he let out a sudden gasp.  
  
"Hotaru! Watch out!" He cried and shoved her away. Hotaru felt herself hit the ground, but with no extra weight from Kiyon. She looked up and saw Kiyon continually being shocked as he was carried away.  
  
"HOTARUUU!!!" Kiyon cried, flailing his arms at her in a desperately plea. "Hotaru! Hotaru! Please save me! It hurts!" He howled.  
  
"KIYOOOOOON!!!! She shouted in anger and sorrow! "NOOOOOOOOOO! YOU STUPID BEETLE!!!!! BRING HIM BACK RIGHT NOW!!!!!" She screeched, but it buzzed off carrying Kiyon away screaming. "Kiyon? KIYON!!!" She sobbed. She was all alone now. She had failed to keep him with her. She had no idea how to get back to the entrance or to the exit. What was she going to do? She looked around frantically. She had to find a way in the direction that Kiyon had gone. She blasted off. She tried her best to stay in that direction. A right here, a left there, just to balance each other out. She took what seemed like an endless amount of turns, heart racing and adrenaline pumping. Which was the right way? How could she ever find her way in what seemed like an endless maze? Her mind was clouded with doubt and many more of her negative feelings. Suddenly she skidded to a stop, her inch a centimeter away from a wall. A Dead End. 'NO! NO! It's a dead end! I'll never get out! I'll be doomed to wander these paths for the rest of my forsaken life! I wont ever be able to find any of them! I wont be able to rescue Kiyon! I'm such a fool! I should have marked my trail some how. I should have thought of some plan! Why oh why is this happening to me? I'll never get out. I'll be stuck here forever. Either that or I'll be killed by a monster. Why was I so stupid?' She screamed in her mind. She could feel the negative emotions starting to take over her. Her dark feelings began to make the atmosphere dense with fear. She plopped onto the ground, clutching her head in her hands. Then a single thought raced through her head and she wiped away her tears of fear and stood back up.  
  
"I can't let it conquer me! I've got to think that somewhere there's a way out. I'm letting something get me carried away. Dampen my thinking. I must get through this. I'm going to find a way!" She said, finding a bit of courage to build on. She smiled. She felt a lot better. Now she had to continue searching for her friends and pray that nothing horrible had befallen Kiyon. She treaded on, taking random directions. Sometimes reaching dead ends, but she refused to let it drive her mad.  
  
Then she heard a familiar buzzing sound. She spun around and skewered a beetle that had been about to pounce upon her. She then heard much more buzzing sounds. She gulped and decided to run. She raced around in a panic; the many sounds of buzzing seemed to flood in from all directions, forcing her always down one certain path. The hum had gotten much louder. She turned around and saw about twenty zipping after her. She screamed and sped off full blast. And with every new junction of paths one came from most of her paths, always giving her one place to run. She didn't like this at all! It was like she was being herded like a cow to the slaughter house, but she kept on running, praying that the next turn would not be a dead end. She knew she'd have to fight them sometime though. She feared for the number of bugs pursuing her now. She had been through many junctions now. She was sure the number had at least doubled. Her heart was leaping out of her chest and she breathed hard, throat completely dry. She could feel her energy leave her. It seemed like she had been running for ages. Then she was herded to the right and she screeched to a stop once again. Well, she couldn't run anymore. She gulped and turned around, her chest heaving with fatigue. What she saw made her eyes widen with terror. She gawked at what seemed like an army of beetles. She held her glaive at ready, trembling at what seemed to be about fifty. Then she felt a slight spark of hope. They were weak, like the monsters at the ruins of Reliability.  
  
"I c-can take y-you!" She stammered, trying to sound as brave as she could, though it was obvious that she was at her nerves end.  
  
They all sped at her. She swung her glaive in quick sweeping motions, telling herself to be confident. And her confidence grew. She swung her glaive around and hacked and chopped, cutting down as many as three beetles as a time. They were, only over sized bugs, after all. She had a ruthless sense of duty smitten in her eyes as she cut off one's head, impaled another and sliced yet another in half. She never let her blade movement stop. She was surprised at herself. She supposed it was true that people become stronger when in fear.  
  
"I can win." She murmured. She could feel sweat trickle down the side of her face. But she couldn't stop to wipe it away. The only thing important to her right now was staying alive, meaning that she HAD to defend herself. After what seemed like hours she felt her glaive hit nothing. She snapped out of her trance like state. She looked around and saw that all the beetles had fallen. There bodies had been scattered all around her. She gasped. How and why had she done this? She looked at herself seeing that she had been cut and parts of her outfit were torn from a few times where the beasts had gotten through. How come she hadn't felt them before? She dropped to the ground, completely and totally beat with not an ounce of energy left in her body and there she sat trying to clam herself down. She was so tired. If something came right then and there she refused to get up. So when the massive lightning cat rounded the corner to stare at her she didn't have the strength to get up. She just stared at it in agony. The cat let out a massive roar, casing her to back away and cower against the wall. She would never be able to take it in her state. She prepared for it to lunge at her, closing her eyes. She couldn't call upon a silence wall. She hadn't the strength. But the lion didn't come at her and after a few minutes she dared to peek and opened one eye. It just sat there, growling at the wall. She blinked and she began to turn her head to the wall but all of a sudden a pair of hands shot out from behind her and wrapped around her head, covering her mouth, preventing her from screaming. She struggled and struggled. But the grip was too strong for her. All the while, the cat sat there with its cold stare locked into a glare. Then she felt herself bound and she looked down and saw many hands had wrapped around her, covering the length of her body. The hands around her mouth let go.  
  
"WHO'S DOING THIS???" She demanded to know.  
  
"Too bad that such beauty was wasted on a pitiful little rat like you." She heard someone say. Her eyes widened at the sound of the voice. It was obviously Matt's, but there was something different about it... something evil...  
  
"You're not Matt." She spat in hatred.  
  
"Wow...big surprise." He answered. Slowly a figure appeared out of the shadows in front of her. The lightning cat let out a growl.  
  
"Shadow Matt? But I thought you were on our side! Why?" She asked, horrified.  
  
"I was never on your side. I just mislead you, and now you all shall lose. I'll get all your pitiful friends, even the pitiful excuse for a human I was made after, and I'll turn you over to my master. I've already got you." He laughed sinisterly. The lightning cat let out a roar. "Shut up you over sized stuffed animal. I don't care if you like me or not. There's nothing you can do about it." He spat.  
  
"Were you the one that took Kiyon away? Bring him back! It's not fair to leave him all alone. He's so small and helpless!" Hotaru shouted desperately.  
  
"Yeah, I took him away. He's fine for now, but we'll see. You should be worried about yourself after what my master is going to do to you. But I'll capture the rest of your pitiful gang to take away your last hope." He snickered.  
  
"Why, Shadow Matt? Why are you doing this? I thought we were friends!" Hotaru cried.  
  
"Oh? I never liked any of you. Why? I serve my master and my master alone. You mean nothing to me and you never did. I have no friends." He murmured.  
  
"That's sad, having no friends. I'll be your friend, you know that. We all will be." She said, eyes downcast.  
  
"SILENCE! I do not need your pity!" He shouted. He turned and stared at the lightning cat. "Well? Do your stuff you mangy beast!" The lightning cat glared at him with its wise, coal black eyes. "HURRY IT UP! I don't have all day here." The lightning cat stared at her and then shot out a bolt of lightning. Hotaru felt the hands around her release. She cringed back, shutting her eyes tight as she anticipated the blow...but it never came. She opened one eyes and saw that bars of lightning encased her in a cage. She backed up and slammed into the lightning bars behind her getting shocked. She instantly recoiled.  
  
"Shadow Matt! Let me out! Please?" She pleaded. He smiled evilly at her.  
  
"Aww...I'm sorry, but I really must be going now. Tight schedule getting rid of your friends." With that Shadow Matt motioned with his hand and Hotaru felt herself get whisked away.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
Kive had no idea where Shadow Matt had gotten to. He wasn't really paying attention. Then when he had turned around to check if the cats were gone he realized that Shadow Matt was gone. Kive could care less about the whereabouts of his teammate. As far as he was concerned, Shadow Matt was just another annoying Matt to deal with, except more useless, and he was glad to have the loser off his hands. But he wondered where Hotaru was. He had always felt that he had to keep her safe ever since he had first met her for some reason. He had never felt like that before, towards anyone. He shook off his thoughts and stared ahead. He hadn't run into a dead end yet, thankfully. He came across a junction. A light green arrow pointed straight ahead of him, a blue arrow pointed to the right, and a purple arrow pointed to the left. He stood there and thought. What did the arrows mean?  
  
'I'm not supposed to help you, but, they symbolize your friends. Something is very amiss. Watch your back.' The maiden's disembodies voice sounded again. Then it was gone.  
  
"What? What do you mean by that?" Kive shouted. He sighed. After a few minutes of waiting he decided that he wouldn't get a response. He thought it over. Then it popped into his head. Matt always seemed like a blue person. Hotaru was clad in all purple. And the light green must have symbolized Kiyon. It all made sense to him now. He decided in an instant. Hotaru. He moved down the purple path and continued down a series of twists and turns. Then he came to another junction. But this time he was very confused. A black arrow pointed down each of the paths. He sat there once again, thinking hard. Finally, after about ten minutes he decided to just wing it and go down the right path. He headed down the right path; through a long walk filled with turns that seemed to never end. He stopped and stared at a dead end.  
  
"Shoot. I guess I was wrong." He sighed. Then he saw a little purple button on the wall. He walked up and pressed it. After about five minutes of nothing Kive shrugged and gave it up for a lost cause. He turned around and began to head back when he heard a strange noise. He looked to the side and his eyes widened in terror at what he saw. There, before him, spikes had emerged out of the wall and began to move in to crush him. "SHOOOOT!" He shouted and dashed ahead. The walls were closing slowly, but he was so far from the junction. He ran as fast as he could, seeing the path begin to narrow. Then he heard another of the weird noises he had heard when spiked had come out of the walls. He didn't like that sound. He stared around frantically, wondering where it had cam out, he continued moving. He still had to get out. Suddenly, something in his brain told him to jump forward so he did just that. And it was a good thing. Right where he had been standing a spike protruded from the floor. He stared in terror and began to blast ahead. He ran and ran, spikes popping up right behind him and spikes enclosing from the side. He could feel his heart racing and sweat trickled down the side of his face.  
  
"WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?" He shouted, stopping. Then he suddenly rolled away from where he had been standing. Right where he had been another spike poked out from the floor. He stood up and began to run. He could see the junction. Then, suddenly, he could feel something dragging him in the opposite direction. He pulled with all his might, opposing it with all his might. This maze must have really wanted him dead. It was like there a was a vacuum trying to suck him in. He was so close to the junction. He cringed as he saw the barbs were only half a center away from piercing his skin. Then he remembered the perils coming at him from below and he attempted to jump forward, but only got pulled back more. Luckily, he was pulled back just enough to dodge the spike that popped up at his former position. He raced forward to gain back his distance. He continued to push against the force so eager to seal his doom. He was almost there. Just a few more feet. He felt the thick needles poke his shoulders and tear through the fabric. He flinched but continued ignoring the pain of scraping his skin against the spikes. He had to make it. Only a little more. Just five more feet! Then pain shot up his shoulder and he realized the spikes had pierced his first layer of skin. He knew he would have spikes deep in his shoulder by the time he got through. He instantly tried to shift sideways to make it so he had more room. He was successful, but he had also increased the length of the scratched on his shoulder by turning. He winced but continued on. Then he felt a sharp pain sear up his right leg. He stared down in pain, realizing he had neglected to think of the floor spikes. The whole length of his leg had a long red gash. He instantly moved away from the spike and covered the rest of the distance, great pain from walking ripples up his slashed up leg. He was more dragging it along than walking with it. Finally he pulled his way through. And crumpled to the ground. He swore that his heart was about ready to jump out of his chest at the rate it was beating. He stared down at the nasty slash and gulped. His blood had soaked onto his pants. He reached in his bottomless bag, which he had never told anyone about, and retrieved a long bandage. He was always being lectured to bring medical supplies around, just in case an accident happened. He admitted now that he was glad of it. He bandaged it, ignoring the pain. He knew it was for the best. He sighed, realizing that his arms were a bit cut up too. But his leg was way worse off and he decided to pay more attention to it. Plus his leg HURT! Then he suddenly felt his stomach churn as he heard the sudden grind of the spikes closing together. Kive gulped and stared back over at them, realizing that he could have been sandwiched between those same spikes. He turned back to his leg and sat there, waiting for the pain to die down a little. After a long while he felt a bit better. He made an attempt to stand up and felt his leg again crumple below him, causing him to stagger a few step forward before he collapsed onto the ground. His face landed straight on the arrow that had been pointing to the left when he had first came into the junction. But now it was different. It was shining purple. He decided that pushing that button had done more than start up the spikes. He shuddered, thinking about the path he had just gone down again. He hoped he'd never have to do that again. He stared at his right leg, which was once again throbbing again. Then he stared down the path the glowing purple arrow was pointing to. What would he do? What if the path was another death trap? He doubted he'd be able to get through again. He admitted it. He was afraid. Truly afraid. And even if he could go down the path, would his leg even support his weight the whole way? Suddenly he decided.  
  
"If I just sit here then nothing will happen. It'll probably take forever for my leg to heal and I have nowhere else to go and nowhere else to turn, so I might as well go down that stupid path. It might lead to Hotaru. I can hope." He grumbled. Then he willed his leg to walk and he made his way down the path, pain pulsating through his leg. He cringed with every step and forced his way on. Sometimes his leg would give in and he would fall, but he kept forcing himself up. He thought himself a fool on a wild goose chase. It probably just led to another junction, but he could hope. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of forcing himself to walk forward he reached a large room. His eyes lit up.  
  
"Hotaru!" He shouted and plopped down on the ground with relief. Then he stared at her, realizing she had been encased with lightning.  
  
"Kive! What are you doing here? Oh my gosh! What happened?" She cried, realizing that blood had soaked through his bandage. "Come here!" She demanded. Kive scooted forward. Hotaru carefully reached her hand through the lightning bars and put it over Kive's gash. Kive blinked and stared at her. He watched her concentrate hard, hands trembling. After a few more minutes Kive's leg felt much better, though it still hurt terribly. She sighed and rested her head on her knees, eyes drooping.  
  
"I'm sorry. That's all I could do. It was a nasty gash." She said, voice raspy.  
  
"Hotaru! You shouldn't have used up your energy to heal me! I would have lived." He said, worried. She smiled at him.  
  
"You came here for me. Thanks. I'll feel better soon. I just feel drained again." She sighed.  
  
"Hey, don't worry about it. And don't think this was your fault. You made it feel a lot better." He assured her.  
  
"The bleeding has stopped a little, I think. And I tried to close it a bit. I didn't get to do too much. I was already sort of tired. I'm sorry, Kive."  
  
"No problem. I got the wound out of my own stupidity. Now we have to figure a way to get you out of there." Kive stated.  
  
"I don't think so." Shadow Matt said, popping up by his right side.  
  
"Shadow Matt? Go away. Don't bother us right now." Kive growled. Hotaru was glaring at Shadow Matt. Kive ignored him. Then Shadow Matt pulled his foot back and slammed it into Kive's right leg. Kive instantly recoiled in pain, face twisted in agony as he clutched at his leg.  
  
"Shadow Matt! Please! Leave Kive alone! Can't you see you're hurting him?" Hotaru begged desperately. Shadow Matt stared at her and kicked Kive's leg again. Kive let out a pain filled shout and whipped out his sword. Shadow Matt set his foot on Kive's leg and shoved down. Kive let out another cry of pain and dropped his sword, too hurt to hold it.  
  
"You don't think you can fight me in your shape, can you?" Shadow Matt laughed. He was enjoying Kive's pain. Hotaru stared at them in horror and fear for Kive.  
  
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Hotaru cried. Shadow Matt pressed harder with him foot. Kive bit down on his lip hard to keep from crying out. He pulled out his dagger quickly and hurled it straight at Shadow Matt's face. Shadow Matt saw it and tried to dodge, but it barely got him, grazing his cheek.  
  
"Daring move." Shadow Matt growled. Moving away from Kive. Then he whistled. A cat bounded down from the tops of the maze to rest by Shadow Matt's side, growling at him. He just rolled his eyes at it. "Do your job already, stupid feline." He roared. The beast let out an angry roar before caging Kive like Hotaru. Kive sat there, eyes squeezed shut in pain. Hotaru stared at Kive in pure fear and worry.  
  
"Kive? Are you going to be okay?" She whispered.  
  
"I-I'll be fine." He croaked, continuously clutching at his leg. Shadow Matt stared at the both of them and whisked his hand in a motion and Kiyon appeared in a cage next to Hotaru, looking like he had been shocked the whole way over. He was sitting up, looking severely tired.  
  
"Now, I only have to get Matt. Let's go find him!" He laughed and whisked them all way.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
Matt sat there in a dead end, a lightning cat lying besides him, extremely injured. It had chased him the whole way and when he ran into the dead end he had been forced to fight it. It had not been easy. He had been electrocuted and he had three gashes across his chest from when it lunged at him while shocking him. He had not been prepared at all when it had attacked him and he ran into the dead end. He hadn't even had his sword out. He also had a bad scratch on his face and a deep cut on his arm from where massive claws had almost raked him. Along his other upper arm was a long slash, though not too deep. He breathed heavily, recalling the battle.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Matt felt the electric current go through his whole body, shocking him. He was in major pain as he was shocked. Then all of a sudden the cat came at him. It lashed him across his chest and stopped shocking him. Matt staggered back, clutching his chest in pain. He leaped away from the cat's range and stared down at his hand. Blood. He felt his head spin. But then he shook it off and decided that he had to fight. He pulled out his sword and charged at it. The beast dodged all his slashes with its swift nature, leaving Matt tired. Then it suddenly spring upon him, leaping for his head, but Matt quickly dodged as best he could, but one claw got him across his cheek. Then he slashed with his blade at the beast and left a nasty gash. The beast roared back in pain. Matt then slashed it again. Then it leaped at him again, knocking the sword out of his hands in a quick pounce while getting him on his arm. Matt gulped and backed away trying to get to his blade, but the cat hopped in the way, cutting him off. Matt let out a gulp and continued backing away as the cat got closer. He could fear his fear start to overtake him, but he pushed it away. He wouldn't let this cat toy with him. But then the cat sprung at him and slashed, leaving a cut along his whole arm. He clutched it in pain, but ran back and faced the cat, chanting his magic words and concentrating as the beast dashed at him. Then an ice beam shot out and hit the beast square on, freezing him in an instant. Matt let out a sigh of relief and dug through his bag and bandaged his arm. It didn't hurt too much. He'd survive and he could still sword fight since the cat had slashed the left arm and he was right handed. He made his way to his sword. But, as soon as he picked it up he heard a cracking sound behind him. His eyes widened as he saw the beast break out and then start to dash at him to impale him with its long spikes. It did not seem like a very happy ending! "OH SHOOT!" Matt shouted, seeing the beast's eyes glow red with rage as it charged to tackle him. Matt jumped to the side, the spot where he had been back from electricity. Then held out his sword just as the beast charged by. His sword raked the whole length of the beast's side and fell to the ground in pain. Matt wiped of his sword and sat down and that was where he was at now.  
  
~*~*~  
  
He stared at the beast. It had been a while now and the beast's breathing had become shallow. Matt felt a pang of worry for the massive, spiked cat for some reason. It wasn't like killing off a Digimon. These didn't come back. That's what he believed at least. He reached out to touch it but withdrew rubbing his fingers in pain. The spikes were as sharp as ever. The beast roared at him for attempting to touch it. Matt sighed and backed off a little. Then it let out another roar, except this time in pain. Matt felt a wave of guilt shoot through him. This was his fault, after all. But if he hadn't beat it it would have killed him! Then he tried to shrug off the guilt. This was his ENEMY! It wanted to KILL him. But now it looked so helpless. He sighed. Well? How could he help it anyways? The damage was already done. Matt sighed and looked at his arm, thinking that the cat's wound must have felt worse than the cut on his arm, which wasn't troubling him too much. Matt sighed. This was the second pair of clothes he had to replace. Then he stared back at the beast, feeling guilty again. He wanted to help it, and he didn't care if helping the enemy made him a softy or a traitor. It wasn't right to just leave it and let it die. He searched through the bag with his good arm and retrieved the green vile that Stacey had given him. He popped off the cork and held it to the creature's mouth. The cat roared and backed off from it.  
  
"Drink it. It's good for you." Matt commanded. The cat stared into his eyes and decided to trust him. It began to drink some of the potion. Then, when it had drunk about a quarter it refused to drink it anymore. Matt stared at it worried, but then stared where the cut had been and saw that it had significantly healed. The cat obviously thought that it should drink just enough so that it could walk around and act normal. Then its spikes retracted and it began to rub up against Matt, purring. Matt smiled. It had been a good decision to help it. "It's okay, it's okay. I guess we're friends now!" He laughed. Then he put away the vile. He'd save it for a time he'd really need it. All of a sudden Matt felt something start to approach. He signaled for the cat to stop and he stared at a part of the shadows.  
  
"Shadow Matt?" Matt asked. Then a few long shadow hands shot out in an attempt to grab him. Matt slashed them all down. "I thought you said you didn't want to fight me, Shadow Matt." Matt growled.  
  
"I lied. How did you know it was me?" He asked popping up out of the wall's shadow.  
  
"You can't be Shadow Matt. The Shadow Matt I know is nice and not to mention, clumsy." Matt growled  
  
"Well, I fooled you then. It was all an act. You fools are so gullible." He laughed. "How did you know it was me?"  
  
"Why should I tell you?" Matt snapped.  
  
"Because, if you don't do whatever I tell you I'll kill her." He reasoned. He made Hotaru and her cage appear.  
  
"Matt!" She called. All of a sudden Shadow Matt held the blade to her throat.  
  
"Hotaru! Leave her out of this, bastard." Matt snarled.  
  
"It'd be so easy to kill her. If I just press a little bit more." He taunted. Matt's eyes widened.  
  
"Leave her alone! I'll do whatever you want!" He pleaded. Shadow Matt stepped away from Hotaru and smacked Matt with the flat part of his blade. Matt cringed back. Then the lightning cat sprung forward to his defense, spikes appearing once again. It clawed and slashed, leaving scratches all over Shadow Matt, pushing him away from Matt. Finally it had driven Shadow Matt a safe distance away from Matt and stood its ground firmly in front of him. Then Matt noticed Shadow Matt was right next to Hotaru. He held his blade to her neck again.  
  
"How dare you use me like this! Matt, don't listen to him. When he has you he has us all! I'd rather die than have him listen to you!" She shouted. Matt's eyes softened.  
  
"Call off your cat or I'll kill her." Shadow Matt snarled with rage.  
  
"You heard him..." Matt sighed, defeated. "I don't want to get Hotaru hurt. Her safety goes before mine." The cat stared at him, worried, letting him know it had his back and that they should fight. "No, I have to listen to him. I want you to listen to him too."  
  
"You're smart." Shadow Matt said. "Tell your little pet to form an electric cage around you." He demanded. The cat let out a ferocious roar and got in a position to spring at him when Matt stopped it.  
  
"No, listen to it." Matt sighed.  
  
"Matt! Don't do it!" Hotaru called. Shadow Matt hit her, not affected by the bars.  
  
"Leave her alone." Matt snarled. "Go on, listen to him." Matt told the cat. The cat stared at him, pleadingly but when it saw the finality in Matt's eyes it submit and caged Matt. Then Shadow Matt covered it in shadow hands, blocking off its electric attacks.  
  
"You better not hurt either of them." Matt snarled.  
  
"Oh, don't worry. My master will take care of that. But first, I have a little unfinished business to take care of here. Then we can all go and I can turn you in." He mocked. He whisked them away and they landed in a large room that Kiyon and Kive were in.  
  
"Is this still in the maze?" Matt asked.  
  
"This is the exit." Shadow Matt pointed out.  
  
"What kind of unfinished business do you have?" Matt asked.  
  
"Well, for one thing I have to get the crests and I need you worthless rats for that. But there's something else, and I'll wait here as long as it takes." He said darkly.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
Shadow Matt continued on. He wondered what had happened to everyone. He couldn't say he wasn't worried. The cat chasing him had just disappeared and now he was alone. The only sound was the sound of his own footsteps and that creeped him out. But he felt a pull in a certain direction and for some reason he always knew where to turn. Sometimes he'd start thinking about what was going on really hard and he'd crash into a wall, but he had not run into a dead end yet. He continued on and on, but nothing happened. He felt the pull get stronger. He was confident he was going straight to the exit. Finally he emerged in a room, facing the back of a familiar figure. In the far end of the room were Matt, Hotaru, Kive, and Kiyon all in lightning cages. Next to Matt's cage was a lightning cat encased in shadow hands. WAIT! Shadow hands? But...  
  
"I've been waiting for you." He heard his own voice come from the figure. He turned around revealing himself  
  
"What? How can this be?" Shadow Matt asked in horror. All of his friend's eyes turned to him.  
  
"Shadow Matt? What? There are two?" Kive asked.  
  
"I knew you were a fake!" Matt shouted at the evil Shadow Matt.  
  
"He's the fake." The evil one growled.  
  
"I'm glad to know that you really didn't betray us." Hotaru said, smiling slightly.  
  
"You're gonna save us right?" Kiyon said, hopeful.  
  
"Hey guys... Shadow Matt? How can there be two of us? I just don't understand!" Shadow Matt, said, confused.  
  
"The master thought you were a worthless traitor so he created me. I don't know how an error like you came about, but I suppose since the master is human he makes mistakes. He sent me to right that mistake. There can be only on Shadow Matt in existence." He said icily. Shadow Matt glared at him.  
  
"Let my friends go!" Shadow Matt shouted.  
  
"I'm afraid I can't do that. But it wont matter much what happens to them after you're dead, am I right? Let's fight." He demanded, unsheathing his sword. (A/N: I'm going to call the Evil Shadow Matt Dark SM and Shadow Matt, well, Shadow Matt..... or SM, it quite depends.)  
  
Dark SM ran forward, sword unsheathed. Shadow Matt pulled out his sword just in time to meet the other sword. Shadow Matt and Dark SM pushed against each other, neither winning. They both jumped back. Then Dark SM came in with a side cut, but SM met it. And he met every other attack that Dark SM threw at him. Then Dark SM came in with a downward cut. Shadow Matt caught it and jumped back. They circled each other, searching for a weakness. Then Shadow Matt came in with an upper slash, which was blocked and they met each other's swords continually as SM started going on offense. Then Dark Shadow Matt tripped him. Shadow Matt fell to the ground and Dark SM switched his blade from sword fight to stab and plunged it down at SM. SM quickly rolled away heart beating intensely. He had never liked sword fights. The stakes were always too hard and it was too dangerous of an activity for him to enjoy. On false move and... He got up and charged Dark SM. They met each other's blade again, but Shadow Matt was in the bad position and was force to jump back. Dark SM attacked him in a fast flurry of swings, keeping SM too busy to busy to take advantages of his openings. Dark SM swung his sword in a confusing movement but SM managed to parry it. SM swung his sword forward at the same time Dark SM did. Then SM and Dark SM once again met their identical swords head to head. They both jumped back and waited for the other to make a move. Shadow Matt felt something wrap around his leg. He looked down and saw a shadow hand and cut it. Dark SM used this opportunity to land a slash on SM. SM tried to dodge and missed having himself being chopped in two, but he had a gash along his stomach. He cringed back in pain. He stood there, clutching his stomach, a look of deep pain engraved on his face. Dark SM raised his blade, ready to plunge it into SM when he suddenly felt a swift pain in his leg. He looked down and he saw SM had swung and had cut into his leg slightly, though not very deep. SM pulled his sword out and away.  
  
"Gotcha." He mocked and jumped back. Dark SM took a step forward and winced in pain. "Hey? Did I get you too hard? Sorry...." SM said sincerely. Then Dark SM jumped at him and knocked his sword out of his hands and stabbed at SM. SM tried to dodge, but it still caught him in his shoulder. "Come on. Let me get my sword." SM grimaced.  
  
"No." He said plainly and pushed it harder, trying to pierce the bone. SM felt MAJOR pain shooting down his arm and through his shoulder. He gulped. Then he decided he had to take action. He kicked forward and slammed Dark SM straight in the stomach. SM saw he lost grip of his sword and it dropped to the ground. SM crumpled down, Pain searing through his shoulder as the blood flowed freely out. Dark SM stood up and picked up SM's sword, hate burning in his eyes. SM shrunk back and stood up trying to back away, only to trip and fall again. He scooted back as Dark SM scooted forward, sword glinting dangerously. As soon as he got close enough he tried to stab Shadow Matt again, but Shadow Matt lashed out his leg and tripped him again. Shadow Matt stood up and kicked Dark SM's hand do that the sword flew out of it. Then he kicked Dark SM as he tried to get up. Dark SM felt the blow to his side and cringed, but didn't hesitate to bounce right up. Shadow Matt reached back to grab Dark SM's blade and Dark SM reached to grab SM's blade. They faced each other and threw their swords to their rightful owners. Dark SM thrust his sword at SM's head, but SM pushed it down with his own blade. Then he kicked Dark SM away. All of a sudden he started to feel light headed and the pain in his shoulder was intensifying. He dropped his sword and fell to the ground. Dark SM stepped forward and SM attempted to get up or scoot back, but his arm strength failed him and he sat there staring at Dark SM in horror as his arm gave out.  
  
"Please don't kill me..." He whispered. Then he got an idea. Since they were both Shadow Matts......... He concentrated on the shadow hands around the cat and made them disappear. Then he stared at Dark SM defiantly.  
  
"What? Any last words?" Dark SM mocked, not noticing the giant cat hurtling at him at lightning speed.  
  
"Yup, bye bye!" SM said waving. Dark SM stared at him in confusion, withdrawing the blade as he turned around to see a lightning cat in his face.  
  
"SHOOOOT!" He shouted as the lightning cat rammed into him sending him flying across the room and shocking him at the same time in an attempt to kill him.  
  
"Let him go. He can't do anymore now..." Shadow Matt said, staring at Dark SM, sprawled on the ground with many wounds from the cat's spikes and blacker than he was before from being continually shocked. He slipped into the shadows.  
  
"Just watch Shadow Matt. You think you've won. I'll get you. Just watch. You haven't seen the last of me!" His voice echoed through the room. The lightning cat released everyone in the cages. They all shouted to him, but he couldn't quite hear them, he fell to his knees clutching his head. His vision had gone fuzzy on him and he couldn't get a hold of himself. The next thing he knew everything went all white and SM went unconscious.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
"Shadow Matt!" Hotaru called and ran to him. He was unconscious, shoulder and stomach bleeding freely. He had lost a lot of blood. Hotaru looked at him in pure worry. Everyone ran over.  
  
"He's way brave." Kiyon said in admiration. "Do you think he'll be okay?"  
  
"I don't know. He's lost a lot of blood." Hotaru said, vexed.  
  
"Here we were, thinking he was evil." Kive sighed. "He's a better person than I thought."  
  
"He saved us all. I didn't think that he would do that to us." Matt said. The lightning cat nudged Matt's hand, spikes withdrawn. "What is it?" He asked then a white light engulfed them.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't test you myself but I see that you are worthy." A girl said. They all turned to look at her. She had long, black hair with purple streaks pulled into a tight braid lace with purple flowers, and light purple eyes. She was dressed in a yellow Egyptian robe with purple lines that traces around her robe making it look like a computer chip, and with purple sandals, gloves, and hems. "You're friend has a very strong will to fight against himself." She added, handing Matt the crest of knowledge.  
  
"Can you heal him?" Matt asked.  
  
"No, I do not have healing powers. Ask your friend." She said, signaling over at Hotaru. Matt stared at Hotaru.  
  
"I never knew that..." Matt said.  
  
"Don't ask her to do it, if you really care about her Matt. She's already drained." Kive said, staring down at his leg. Matt raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
"Hotaru, I don't want you to over exert yourself." He sighed. "There's got to be another way." He sighed. The cat nudged his bottomless bag. "Oh yea! You're smart!" Matt smiled. "I guess I forgot about it with all the action and drama and stuff." Matt laughed.  
  
"Look at him. He's just as perky as ever as his copy just sits there on the ground unconscious." Kive said, shaking his head at Matt.  
  
"Geez...it's not like I don't care. It's just that I just realized something that can help thanks to my animal friend here." Matt said, rolling his eyes. He walked over to Shadow Matt. "Shadow Matt...wake up." Matt said nudging him a little. Shadow Matt groaned and peeked at Matt with one eye.  
  
"What Matt?" He rasped. Matt pulled out the green vile.  
  
"Drink this." Matt ordered, handing it to him. SM began to drink it and instantly felt much better. He stopped and handed it back to Matt. He had drunk about another quarter. He wasn't healed all the way but he was healed enough.  
  
"That's like miracle potion or something. I didn't want to drink it all. We should save it and use it sparingly." He pointed out, sitting up.  
  
"Where'd you get that Matt?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"The girl who taught me magic gave them to me." He informed, putting it away in the bag.  
  
"What's that Isis?" The girl asked. They looked to her as she stared into the cat, now known as Isis' eyes.  
  
"Isis says you use the potion to save her and that she's eternally grateful and that she wants to repay you in anyway she can. My little kitten is so sweet." She said, petting Isis. "Well...I still need to give you my gift, right?" They all nodded. She stared down at Isis. "Well, I don't know. Your mother wouldn't be happy if I did that." Isis stared at her pleadingly. "Isis wishes to go with you...but Isis? You will make them stand out looking like that." She sighed.  
  
"How are you talking to her?" Kiyon asked, pulling at her robe. She smiled at him.  
  
"Telepathically." She said. "Well, Isis. I suppose I could do that." She sighed. "Just for your happiness." She started concentrating and her eyes glowed purple. The whole room flashed white and standing before them was a black haired girl with red eyes and a long yellow robe with many Egyptian looking embellishments that looked to be about fifteen.  
  
"Wow, I'm human." She said dumbfounded, in a soft sweet voice. "Thank you so much!" She said, hugging the maiden of Knowledge. The maiden flashed her a warm smile.  
  
"Go out and help them okay. You now have the ability to change back and forth between cat and human. Make me proud." The maiden nodded. The there was a flash of white and they were back outside.  
  
"Thanks for helping me Matt. I'm sorry for attacking you." She said, blushing as she stared at Matt.  
  
"No problem. It's not like I'm dying." He shrugged.  
  
"Thanks for setting me free SM." She nodded at Shadow Matt. "I thought you were very brave."  
  
"Like Matt says, no problem. Anyways, you're the one who saved me." Shadow Matt answered. They all began to talk and introduce themselves, walking back to where they had set up camp. Shadow Matt lagged behind sensing that he was being watched. He turned around and saw nothing.  
  
"Shadow Matt. You shouldn't fall behind, you might get lost!" Isis called back. Shadow Matt took a final glance back and ran over to where they all were. Meanwhile, in the shadows, Dark Shadow Matt watched his twin in loathing. Then he stared at Isis. So she was the lightning cat? Well he'd get rid of her too.  
  
"Just watch Shadow Matt. I'll make sure you have a slow painful death, and I'll be the one causing it. And then I'll kill that cat. Take out all nine of its lives slowly and painfully as well." He growled, voice seething with hatred as he watched the group disappear into the forest.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
Wow! Did you like it? It's 18 pages on Microsoft Word! Please review! It's my longest Chapter yet! I don't know if it's a bunch of B.S. cuz I haven't read it yet. I really abused everyone in this chapter...I hope they aren't mad at me. Ehehehe.  
  
SM: HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME! I THOUGHT YOU LIKE ME!  
  
Megumi: ehehehehe...see you folks! Got to go! Don't forget to review! Eheheh  
  
SM: WAIT MEGUMI! ANSWER ME!!!  
  
Megumi: Bye!  
  
P.S. I corrected some REALLI obvious spelling errors. Hey, Lynn? If you want to read my fanfics and correct the errors then just tell me. I need someone to do that. I don't know if you're the best one to ask, though...JUST PLAYING. I know you'll at the least catch the worst spelling errors and plot holes. But remember~! DON'T BE CHANGING THE PLOT BEHING ME BACK!! o.O;;;; 


	11. Rescal's Keepers

Happy, Happy Disclaimer: I admit that I do not own Digimon or Sailor Moon. I OWN Kive, Shadow Matt, and all my other made up characters. Shadow Matt! YOU ARE MINE!!!!! MY MINION! *Snatches up and drags around*  
  
Wow! Wasn't that a super long chapter? It was like 18 pages on Word. Half of them consisting of me abusing my characters and giving them a bunch of owwies and stuff. SM is like upset with me. BAD MINION! Don't be mad at your master! Hehehe, Sorry people, for putting you through all that. *Stares around nervously* I didn't do it! It was Dark SM! Dark SM, how could you? I had nothing to do with it! That's right! Eheheh. *Points finger, points finger* So now, you see, I am quite violent in my writing. A habit that always seems to emerge.....*sighs* in every one of my stories I get hungry for blood...*grins* But it doesn't mean I don't feel bad about it. Umm...NO NEW CHARACTER THIS CHAPTER...I'm finished off for a few chapters when it comes to adding new character! I just figure a group is not a good group without PEOPLE! Ya knoe? See, there's this one story that I love and am obsessed with and in it there group just gains characters and stuff. *Stares at Lynn* I LIKE GROUPS OF PEOPLE! It's easier to express emotions and you can see how different people will act in response to another person's personality...so that's why I add characters. Will that be sufficient enough? ...Someday, though, Hakiyo's gonna come back. Just warning you.  
  
SM: Megumi, I know you did all that! You can't hide it from me! AND you DON'T own me! Oh...and Lynn...I just realized but you sorta kinda spelled belated wrong...ehehehe.  
  
Megumi: SILENCE MINION! Who cares if Lynn spelled belated wrong?  
  
SM: Well, she was talking about my birthday so it was important! Any ways! How could you do that to me? I thought you cared about me!  
  
Megumi: Aww...of COURSE I do, but c'mon, SM dearest. You know I have a natural tendency to hurt people. Isn't it fun? Come closer SM! I see you're unscathed! I can fix that! *Laughs evilly*  
  
SM: Uh...please don't stare at me like that! You've done enough damage!  
  
Megumi: SM! You're so mean! *Starts crying her eyes out* YOU'RE SO MEAN!!!  
  
SM: Uh...I'm sorry. I'm sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?  
  
Megumi: Introduce the chapter! *Sob, sob*  
  
SM: Okay...I now bring you, courtesy of Megumi, Chapter 11...  
  
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If Darkness Could Befriend Chapter 11: Rescal's Keepers  
  
Virtually everyone was hurt in some way and everyone was tired. Matt sighed and stared at the bedraggled group in front of him. He himself had various wounds. He could tell by the blood soaking through Kive's bandage that his wound wasn't very pleasant. Shadow Matt, well they had all seen what had happened to SM... Kiyon just looked extra crispy. Hotaru was tired, extremely tired from trying to bandage everyone more and she had used whatever energy she had left to heal people. Isis was obviously hurt, but you wouldn't have been able to tell by just looking at her, since none of her wounds showed under her new clothes. Then it hit Matt. They really needed new clothes.  
  
"I'm tired!" Kiyon sighed. He was joined by a bunch of 'me toos' and 'I wanna go to sleeps.' Along with those were the additional, 'I'm hurts' and 'I wanna rests.' Matt sighed, feeling as if they were all complaining to him for some reason. He looked up to them and saw they were all staring at him.  
  
"Why are you all looking at me? I'm not the leader!" He said, confused.  
  
"No, but you certainly are bossy, Matt." Kive muttered. Matt rolled his eyes.  
  
"Anyways, Matt, we just automatically assumed. You seem to take control of situations pretty well." Kiyon said. Matt sweatdropped. He wasn't used to the leadership position. Tai had always held that title. But then he let it go. In the beginning of their Digimon adventure he hadn't really accepted Tai as the leader, but he had then come to accept his role as sort of the follower, if that's what you could have called him. Now, they were all placing the position on him. Well, it's not like he wanted Kive to be the leader or anything, but why him? He thought back and saw that he had sort of been the leader but... He decided to just let it go.  
  
"Let's go to a clearing." Matt offered. They walked on and found a small clearing.  
  
"So tell us, oh great leader? What the hell do we do now?" Kive said sadistically.  
  
"Don't call me that." Matt snarled through his teeth. "Well I think maybe we should camp for tonight and then tomorrow we head for the nearest free town. Does that sound like a plan?" He asked. He head a chorus of 'yeahs' and one 'NO!' Guess whom that came from? Everyone turned to stare at Kive.  
  
"What? It's a stupid plan!" He argued defensively. They all rolled their eyes.  
  
"Well, jerk, tell us a better plan then." Kiyon challenging.  
  
"Yeah, I had a better plan, which was too...umm...I lost it....Just give me a second and I'll remember!" He said thinking. Everyone else groaned and began to set up camp. Isis stumbled around for a while.  
  
"I just realized how hard it is to walk on two feet! How do you humans do it?" Isis asked, tripping over her own two feet.  
  
"Don't look at me! I have the same problem." Shadow Matt sighed.  
  
"Just keep on trying, you'll get used to it." Hotaru assured as they finished. It hadn't taken them too long.  
  
"Hey, just be glad that it's only your walking skills that has problems. Look at him over there. He's been trying to figure out a different plan for twenty minutes and we're already done setting up camp." Matt sighed, staring in mock pity at Kive.  
  
"Say that to my face Matt!" He said, finally coming out of his phase of thinking.  
  
"Huh? What? Did you say something to me Kive?" Matt asked innocently.  
  
"Huh? Oh, I thought I heard you say something and I assumed it was bad- HEY WAIT!!!! I bet fifty copper coins that you said something bad about me!" Kive said.  
  
"I'm sorry, but I don't feel like arguing too much right now." Matt sighed.  
  
"Well too bad, cuz I do." Kive growled.  
  
"Why are you always such a stubborn loser?" Matt asked.  
  
"I'm sorry Matt, but you've already taken that position." Kive said cockily back. Matt glared at him. Kive was always so disagreeing!  
  
"At least I know when to shut up." Matt grumbled.  
  
"Umm, I don't want this to end up in another fight so, could you two stop?" Hotaru asked nicely. They both nodded, both slightly unwillingly. "Oh, Matt? I've been wanting to talk to you. Is that okay?" Hotaru asked. Matt nodded. Kive's mouth opened in protest and he shot wicked glares at Matt. Matt rolled his eyes. What was his issue? Sometimes Matt really wondered why Kive had so much against him being friends with Hotaru. He walked over to Hotaru and she pulled him off.  
  
"Matt?" Hotaru asked, blushing slightly.  
  
"Yeah, Hotaru?" Matt asked.  
  
"I just was wondering. You know when we were in the first ruin, Reliability? I noticed that YOU had all these cuts all over and that I had none. You protected me, I can tell. And later, in Knowledge, you gave up for me. I was wondering, why?" She asked modestly.  
  
"Because I care about you. You're my friend, and I don't think its right to stand around while your friend is in trouble. Anyways, in that market square, I promised you that I'd be there for you. I'm not about to break that promise." He smiled. Hotaru stared up at him. His smile was so warm and his eyes were so blue... She smiled back and hugged him. She truly did like being around Matt. It always made her feel so warm!! Matt let himself hug her back, blushing slightly the whole time. Just then they heard a rustle in the bushes. They broke off immediately and stared over at the bushes.  
  
"Stupid brat! You gave us all away." They heard someone whisper.  
  
"Well, you just gave us away for sure you idiot!" They heard a younger voice whisper.  
  
"I told you guys we shouldn't spy." They heard a girl voice groan.  
  
"Yea, well, that's closer to Hotaru than Kive will ever get." They heard a series of snickers.  
  
"Oh shut UP!! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!!! You WOULD side with the guy you're copied after!" They heard someone shout. It was obviously Kive's voice. Matt walked over and pushed some of the bush aside, revealing their friends hiding with a bunch of leaves and twigs in their hair.  
  
"What happened to being tired, hurt, and wanting to sleep?" Matt laughed. They all blushed.  
  
"I just wanted to make sure you didn't try anything on my girl." Kive scoffed, shooting up to his feet.  
  
"YOUR girl? Since when! Anyways, until Hotaru tells us so, she's no ones girl!" Matt growled. "And anyways, she likes me better." Matt whispered only loud enough for Kive to hear.  
  
"HAH! You must be joking! In your wildest dreams Matt!" Kive laughed.  
  
"So I'm in my wildest dream now?" Matt asked. Kive stared at him in irritation.  
  
"Your so dense." Kive rolled his eyes. Matt smirked playfully and helped everyone else up. Hotaru sighed. She never really got to talk to Matt alone anymore...  
  
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"So what are we going to do now?" Hotaru asked. They were all huddled around a fire.  
  
"Well, we're going to head to the next free town right? Because we're running out of food and water, we need medical supplies.  
  
"I don't know. I'll check the map." Matt said. Everyone nodded. Kive was thankfully arguing with Kiyon again, meaning that Matt could relax.  
  
"So what is it?" Isis asked.  
  
"I think this one. It's called Shiyoko." He said, squinting at the Matt. Kive attention suddenly snapped and he was staring over at Matt with eyes wide.  
  
"You!! You're lying!" Kive shouted. Everyone's eyes turned to him. Matt blinked, confused.  
  
"Um, well Kive, the black dots means is controlled by the ruler dude, and the blue dots mean they're free. Shiyoko is the nearest blue dot and that means it's free. Or, that's what I see, at least." Matt said with curiosity.  
  
"No! You've got to be wrong!" Kive said. He sounded sort of scared. He walked swiftly over to Matt and ripped the map out of his hands.  
  
"Hey! You could have asked me first you idiot!" Matt growled.  
  
"Oh, can it Matt! Can't you see I'm busy?" Kive growled. He was concentrating, scanning every inch of the Map like it was a book.  
  
"Yea, well, you're busy with MY map..." Matt grumbled, but let it go. Finally Kive smiled. It was a relieved smile.  
  
"Hey! Now see here, mister high and mighty!" Kive said, shoving the map in Matt's face and pointing out a red dot not to far from where they were. Matt stared at the name 'Rescal' under the red dot, confused.  
  
"Well I looked at that dot for the longest time, but still, it doesn't say what it is in the key. I figured that since I didn't know what it was we shouldn't go there. Better safe than sorry." Matt said, pushing the map away from his face.  
  
"Yeah! We can go there! Kive said boldly.  
  
" NOOO!!!! I refuse to go there! You can't make me! We're all going to d-" Kive was sending him a look of death. Kiyon gulped. "Um, never mind..." Kiyon said softly.  
  
"No, Kiyon! Go on! Don't worry about Kive." Hotaru said warmly. Kive sighed.  
  
"No, no its okay." Kiyon said.  
  
"Hey! It was obvious that something was wrong. If you don't want us to go to the one place then its fine with me." Matt said encouragingly. Kiyon stared over at Kive and this time Kive had a PLEADING look on his face! How often did that happen?  
  
"It's nothing." Kiyon said, smiling assuredly. Matt (A/N: Whew! That sure was close! I was about to type Maar! LOL) stared at him quizzically, but soon dropped it with a sigh.  
  
"I'm going to talk to Kive. Kiyon said. " "Umm, okay." Kive said, slightly relieved. Kiyon frowned and they walked off.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Kive, I think you're insane! How can you want to go there?" Kiyon complained!  
  
"Well, I don't want to go back to Shiyoko yet!" Kiyon protested. "I don't care if even the ruler doesn't want that town! I'd be willing to risk it. I'd rather do anything than going back right now." Kive said, solemnly.  
  
"Wow! Why?" Kiyon asked.  
  
"I have my reasons." Kive said, frowning sadly.  
  
"Why can't you tell us?" Kiyon asked.  
  
"Oh, I can tell you, but it's not your business. It's my problem so don't get involved." Kive sighed.  
  
"But still, Kive! You're insane! I don't want to go there! What if it's the town everybody talks about? I don't want to-" Kiyon was cut off by Kive again.  
  
"Hey! I doubt it! Why would it be that town? There are a lot of towns marked with a red dot!" Kive assured. He hoped with all his might that it wasn't THAT town. But the town name Rescal did seem familiar.  
  
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They walked into town and Matt shivered. He did NOT like the feeling of this place. It gave him the creeps. Everything looked normal. Men filled the place, flocking around to get to wherever they were trying to go. And groups of male teens loitered around shops and chatted along the road. Matt frowned. It just didn't seem right. He sighed and let it go. They noticed a clothing store and all headed there. Isis didn't need to buy anything. Matt grabbed a black shirt and paid for that. His jeans were still perfectly fine. Hotaru grabbed a dark purple skirt, shirt and pants to wear under the skirt and paid for it. Kive bought black pants, a dark blue shirt and a black jacket. Kiyon got Kive to buy a green top with a khaki jacket and khaki shorts for him. And Kive bought SM a new black shirt. Kive was being generous. It was all too obvious that he was pleased. They walked out of the store looking normal. Then they stood there, wondering what to do next.  
  
"So, I think we should split up." Matt said, uncomfortably. He didn't really want to split up but it was the best way to get things done quickly.  
  
"What's wrong Matt?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"Nothing. It's...nothing." Matt sighed. Hotaru frowned stubbornly.  
  
"Matt. Every time you get like that you always tell me that nothing's wrong, and then the next thing we know something happens!" Hotaru argued.  
  
"What? Like when?" Matt asked.  
  
"Do you remember when we got to that clearing? Do you remember how Kive kept putting you down because you felt something was wrong? Then you went off, fought a monster, and came across the Ruler of Esirnus! Don't tell me that that was nothing!" Hotaru protested. "Matt. I'm worried. If something's wrong please tell me."  
  
"No, nothings wrong." Matt frowned. Hotaru sighed and gave up. "So how are we going to split up?" Matt asked.  
  
"I wanna go with Hotaru!" Kive shouted. Matt glared.  
  
"No. I'll go with Hotaru." Matt argued.  
  
"Um...I don't think I'll go with either of you. Hey Isis! Want to go with me?" Hotaru asked. Isis nodded. Matt and Kive both sighed.  
  
"I wanna go with Shadow Matt!" Kiyon chimed.  
  
"Okay. That's fine with me." Shadow Matt said. And that left...  
  
"Oh god no..." Matt and Kive said in unison while turning to face each other.  
  
"NOOOOOOOO!!! I REFUSE to go with HIM!" They both chorused. Everyone laughed. It sounded funny.  
  
"I think it's a good idea!" Hotaru giggled.  
  
"No, please Hotaru! Not with him!" Matt begged.  
  
"Yea, don't make me go with the idiot! Come on!! Anyone else but him!" Kive pleaded, eying Matt with disgust. Matt glared at him.  
  
"I don't want to go with you either!" Matt spat. "Come on! Some one switch with me, please?" Matt pleaded. Giving a begging look to everyone else.  
  
"I don't want to go with Kive!!! He's going to eat me!" Kiyon argued. "And I WANT to go with Shadow Matt!" He added in quickly.  
  
"I can't go with either of you! One of you will get jealous." Hotaru sighed  
  
"I want to go with Hotaru. Us girls should stick together." Isis pointed out.  
  
"No PLEASE!!! Someone! Anyone but him!" Kive begged.  
  
"So Matt? Where do we go?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"We have to resolve the issue at hand first, which is that Kive and I both REFUSE to go in a group with each other." Matt scowled.  
  
"Please?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"But Hotaru, I don't really want to!" Matt whined.  
  
"Please Kive?" Hotaru pleaded.  
  
"I can't stand Matt! You know that!" Kive complained.  
  
"But COME ON!!! You guys fought together once and apparently you both survived, showing me that you guys can stand each other if you really try!" Hotaru pointed out stubbornly.  
  
"But that was different! We were forced!" Kive pointed out.  
  
"Fine.....I guess we have to switch." Hotaru sniffled. Matt's and Kive's eyes widened.  
  
"H-Hotaru! Don't be like that! I'll go! I'll go with him, just don't be sad." Matt said worriedly.  
  
"Yea! I'll go with the idiot! Don't be upset!" Kive assured.  
  
"Thank you!" Hotaru said happily. "So who goes where?"  
  
"I think that you and Isis should go get Medical supplies. Kiyon and SM should try to find out more info about this town, and get anything else we need. I'll get the food." Matt said.  
  
"And what about me?" Kive growled.  
  
"You just follow me around and stay out of my way?" Matt said.  
  
"No, I get the food! You stay out of MY way!" Kive growled.  
  
"You guys both get the food!" Hotaru rolled her eyes. They both sighed and nodded.  
  
"We should meet back here at." He looked at his watch. It was twelve noon. "Say one?" He asked.  
  
"Matt. I know you don't want to go around with Kive, but come on!" Hotaru reprimanded. Matt sighed.  
  
"1:30?" He said innocently. Hotaru shook her head.  
  
"2:00?" He offered sheepishly. She shook her head again.  
  
"2:30?" He said quietly.  
  
"3:00 should be fine Matt." Hotaru said at last. They all nodded and headed out.  
  
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"Isis? Where do you think the medical supplies are?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"I don't know." Isis said. She had gotten the hang of walking. They walked up to a random adult and asked them. They pointed them out. They had been directed to a shop and they walked in. They stared around and grabbed a couple of potions, which they were pretty sure weren't as good as Matt's but would do non-the-less and they headed out. Now they had about three more hours until they were supposed to meet again.  
  
"You handle the two of them pretty well." Isis said as they sat down by a fountain.  
  
"Yup. I don't know why. They just both listen to me." Hotaru smiled.  
  
"You're so lucky. Matt's so nice and all..." Isis said softly, blushing. Hotaru felt a pang of jealousy, but ignored it, trying to be nice to her new friend. Could Hotaru blame her? She had attacked Matt and he had still helped her. Matt was a pretty wonderful guy. But when did she start thinking about Matt? She pushed him out of her mind. All of a sudden a chill came over her and she shivered.  
  
"Are you cold?" Isis asked.  
  
"No." Hotaru said nervously.  
  
"What's wrong then?" Isis asked.  
  
"I'm getting a weird feeling." Hotaru sighed. She wondered if this was what Matt had felt. Hotaru felt a tiny drop of water hit her hand. Soon there were small wet circles all around her. And soon rain began to fall heavily. Hotaru and Isis gasped and stood up frantically.  
  
"Where do we go?" Isis asked.  
  
"I don't know! I don't know this place!" Hotaru said nervously. They ran to a building but couldn't seem to reach it. The more they ran the farther the building appeared. Hotaru and Isis stopped and stared at each other. They looked behind them and say the fountain right there.  
  
"What's happening?" Hotaru asked. They sat down again, getting drenched.  
  
"I don't know. I'm really creeped out now!" Hotaru caught a raindrop in her hand and stared at it wide-eyed.  
  
"What is it Hotaru?" Isis asked, nervously.  
  
"The rain. It's red." Hotaru managed to choke out. They stared at each other horrified. All of a sudden there was total darkness, and then silence. Hotaru and Isis were no longer there.  
  
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"Shadow Matt?" Kiyon said, pulling at SM's sleeve.  
  
"Yea? What is it?" SM asked kindly.  
  
"Didn't that rain come awfully fast?" Kiyon said nervously.  
  
"Yeah. It's a good thing we got caught inside." Shadow Matt answered cheerfully, trying to keep the kid's spirit up. SM got up from his seat to talk to the storeowner. If they were stuck in here then he might as well ask some questions he wanted answers to.  
  
"Excuse me sir, but does it rain at random like this?" Shadow Matt asked.  
  
"Why, yes boy. Yes, it does." The man responded as if not all there. Shadow Matt blinked, confused.  
  
"Is something wrong sir?" Shadow Matt asked. The guys shook his head. SM backed off, officially creeped out. He walked back over to Kiyon. What was up with this town? He had started getting an odd feeling. Like something was wrong. He fancied that they all started feeling it by the way Matt had felt it. And why was this shopkeeper so distant? It was like he had no soul. He sat down and stared out the window.  
  
"Shadow Matt?" Kiyon said, voice trembling with terror.  
  
"What?" Shadow Matt asked, already freaked out himself.  
  
"Why does the rain look like blood?"  
  
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"Oh, shut up!" Matt shouted.  
  
"No! I'm not finished naming off reasons why you're stupid and why this mess is your fault!" Kive protested stubbornly.  
  
"Gosh, can't you just leave it?" Matt rolled his eyes, sitting in food store, bored.  
  
"No!" Kive argued, chewing on some of the food he and Matt had bought. "If you hadn't made us all split up I wouldn't have been stuck with you for hours on end! I mean come on! You're such a gigantic idiot!" Kive shouted.  
  
"And how many times have you said that in the past five hours?" Matt asked. It was now five. They were supposed to meet the rest of their group at three, but due to the rain, they had been stuck in the shop. "You know what, you've been giving me that same reason over and over again. I swear, you really need to shut up. You sound like a broken record!"  
  
"At least I don't have the brain of a rock, pardon the rock." Kive growled.  
  
"You just love it when I beat the crap out of you, don't you?" Matt fumed. Kive was really pissing him off now.  
  
"Tch. You wish you could beat the crap out of me!" Kive laughed. Matt hit him in the stomach with a quick, hard blow. Kive doubled over, clutching his stomach.  
  
"Now shut the hell up." Matt growled. He had no idea how nerve- racking it would be to spend five hours in a building with Kive. Now, maybe, Kive would have less to talk about with the wind pushed out of his lungs... but Matt was wrong, Kive still had some feist in him.  
  
"God, how I hate you, Matt." Kive gasped, standing up straight and socking at Matt. Matt rolled his eyes and blocked all Kive's wild punches effortlessly. Kive wasn't thinking at all, merely trying with all his power to hit Matt. Then Matt lashed out his foot, tripping Kive. Kive shot up to his feet, ready to fight again.  
  
"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" Matt asked. "I don't want to fight anymore. Hotaru would be mad at us." Matt sighed, partially scolding himself. "Sometimes I have to try so hard to keep myself from fighting with you. You can be so hardheaded!" Matt said indifferently.  
  
"Well, whatever. I just don't want to waste more time with you." Kive growled, letting his arms drop to his side.  
  
"You know, when we work together we fight pretty well." Matt pointed out.  
  
"Pshh. You wish that I would fight on your side again, but that was a one-time thing. We were FORCED to fight on the same side!" Kive declared.  
  
"So you wouldn't fight as my ally, even if Hotaru's on my side?" Matt asked slyly.  
  
"That's a different story!" Kive defended himself.  
  
"That's what I thought." Matt chuckled.  
  
"Oh, shut up Matt. You think yourself too high." Kive said, rolling his eyes. Matt frowned.  
  
"Me? What about you?" Matt asked, defensively. Kive shrugged.  
  
"I hold myself high because I KNOW I'm better than all of you, save Hotaru."  
  
"What were you saying about me?" Matt murmured softly.  
  
"Oh, can it Matt." Kive snapped. Matt smirked. All of a sudden, a wave of fear washed over him and he plopped to the ground in sitting position. Kive stared at him awkwardly. What was up with him?  
  
"You're not gonna go crazy on me again like you did on Midday Mountains, right?" Kive asked cautiously. Matt shook his head ominously, shadows covering his eyes. Matt stared up at Kive, with the same fear-crazed look he had in the clearing. Kive backed up nervously. Matt looked pretty psyched out!  
  
"Geez Matt. Stop it. It'll probably be like last time. Maybe the ruler's close by again?" He said, trying to settle his own fear that Matt had sparked in him.  
  
"No. It's not like that. It's not like that this time. It's- It's very different. But we're all in danger. I-I don't know where Hotaru is. I can't feel her. Something will happen. Something will happen on the sixth second of the sixth minute of the sixth hour." Matt replied ominously. The words flowed out of his mouth uncontrollably. It was scaring him. It was like he could not control himself. And he was afraid. Truly afraid. What was going to happen? He stared down at his watch. "It's six." He said. Kive could barely hear his whisper. A shiver ran down Kive's back. It had been a mistake to come here and he knew it.  
  
"W-what do you think will happen, Matt?" Kive said, totally freaked.  
  
"I-I don't know..." Matt said. "All we can do is wait."  
  
"I'm not gonna stat here and wait for doom to get me!" Kive said angrily. He got up and began to push the door open. Matt shot up and wrapped his hand around Kive's arm tightly.  
  
"Fool! Go out into the rain of blood and you'll only seal you're doom!" Matt hissed. His eyes opened wide and he covered his mouth.  
  
"Matt! What the heck's wrong with you?" Kive growled, letting the door swing back into place.  
  
"I don't know. I don't know." Matt said, scared, letting go of Kive's arm. "Sorry. I don't know what came over me. But don't go out. I think we should listen to it." Matt said.  
  
"Okay, I thought you were nuts before but now, you're just full blown insane, referring to yourself as it!" Kive shouted.  
  
"But I didn't say it! Or I had no control my words when I said them!" Matt said. Kive shrugged and sat back down, staring at Matt like he was insane.  
  
"Well, what time is it then." Kive snarled.  
  
"6:05.55" Matt sighed. "Eleven more seconds until whatever happens, happens. I hope everyone's okay." Matt sighed. Kive rolled his eyes, trying to hide the fact that he was scared. Matt's weird way of talking...it wasn't like Matt, however weird Matt usually was. Matt was scared too. What was wrong with him? He could feel danger rippling through him. Why? Why was this happening? He stared at the watch. Five seconds longer.......four seconds......three seconds.....two....one...time up. Matt felt his world swirl, a pain wrenching through his head, ripping through his head. He felt pain shudder up and down the length of his body. He squeezed his eyes shut from the pain. He felt an insane amount of magic course through him, pounding through his veins, adding to the pain. Then he lost control and slipped into unconsciousness....  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
Kive opened his eyes. Where was he? Everything was all black around him. He freaked out and pulled himself to his feet, searching frantically for someone. He saw Matt standing next to him, arms crossed, poised in an expression of thinking.  
  
"Matt...are we dead or something?" Kive asked, softly.  
  
"No." Matt said, stern and icy.  
  
"Gee. I'm sorry for disturbing you're thinking. I don't see how you could think that hard with the size of your brain and I figured disturbing you wouldn't be a big loss." Kive muttered.  
  
"Shut up. We're in a dark world." Matt snapped. He began to walk off. Kive stared at him funkily. He was wearing clothes that didn't seem right on him. Black armor and cape with a pair of black pants to match.  
  
"Gee Matt. Gone gothic on me, haven't you?" Kive taunted.  
  
"Shut it." Matt said, whirling around to face Kive. "Follow me. I know the way." Matt said.  
  
"And HOW do you know the way?" Kive asked.  
  
"It is not your concern. You want to find your friends right?" Matt asked, darkly.  
  
"OUR friends, you numbskull." Kive growled. He stared at Matt, studying his face. His gaze fell upon Matt's eyes, set in a glare. They were cold, lifeless, and as red as blood. "You're not Matt." Kive gasped, backing up.  
  
"No, I'm not. Now follow me." The Matt person said. Kive nodded and followed him as he walked on into the darkness.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~  
  
Hotaru began to wake up and instantly felt a wave of sickness go through her. Something cold, everywhere, reaching for her. Screams met her ears and among them a child's laughter. Hotaru's every snapped open. Transparent, ghostly pale bodies reached for her, everywhere, hands grabbing at her, as if trying to use her to give themselves some life. Hotaru screamed. There was nowhere to run. They were everywhere. Undead, decrepit bodies, dripping with blood. She let out another scream, dropping to the ground and rocking back and forth, tears streaming down her face as she squeezed her eyes shut. She felt them grabbing her, but not touching her, only going through, giving her a tingling painful feeling where they intercepted with her skin. She could feel the hair on the back of her neck prickle and her breath condense. Fear, total fear, washed over her in waves, emotions bombarding her. She wanted to throw up. She wanted to just not be there. She wanted Matt...She wanted ANYONE. She sobbed and sobbed, but refused to open her eyes.  
  
The eerie laughter of the little girl echoed through out her ears, silencing all the screams.  
  
"Hotaru...help me..." She heard a girl whisper softly. Isis. Hotaru opened her eyes and saw the older girl sitting in front of her, as dead looking as the rest, but her eyes shone with hope. "You're okay...you can help me, right?" She sounded almost pleading. Hotaru shook her head and buried her face again in her knees. She heard the child's laughter again.  
  
"Hello, Hotaru." She heard a little girl say mockingly. Hotaru opened her eyes again. All the ghostly figures had dispersed, making way for the girl except for one. Isis stood stubbornly by Hotaru. Hotaru glanced at the little girl. She was dressed in all black. She had blood red eyes and amazingly white hair.  
  
"How do you know me?" Hotaru asked, trying to conceal her fear.  
  
"Teehee! It's okay to be afraid. After all, I want to suck out all your powers and use them to rule this world!" She giggled. "I was surprised to see someone alive! But then I remembered the legend, of the dark girl who could destroy planets and end life as she pleased. I want that power. Not that my power is near lacking. I'll use your powers to make new friends! I mean, look at all my wonderful friends!" She giggled, motioning to all the spirits around her.  
  
"Monster child!" Hotaru hissed. "Bring Isis and I back to the normal world. Bring all these people back!"  
  
"No. They're my friends now!" She laughed. "So can I have your powers?"  
  
"No! I'm not who you think you are. I can't destroy planets and end life as I please!" Hotaru murmured, lying through her teeth.  
  
"No need to lie to me! We can be friends! You can be friends with all my friends!" She said innocently, only a mysterious dark lurked in the back of her voice.  
  
"I'm not your friend! I want to be alive!!" Isis cried.  
  
"You are my friend. Everyone's my friend." She growled in a more mature voice, radiating with evil. Her eyes glowed red and an image appeared in front of her. Hotaru stared at the picture. Shadow Matt and Kiyon were staring out a window of some building at the rain. The girl chanted some weird words and the image became foggy. Hotaru heard SM's and Kiyon's voices.  
  
~*~*~  
  
'SM? What's happening?' Kiyon asked. 'The air's getting thicker. I-I cant' breath!' Kiyon gasped.  
  
'I don't know...' SM managed to choke out. The air continued to get thicker, suffocating them, straining their lungs.  
  
'Are we going to die?' Kiyon asked.  
  
'I-I don't know...' SM murmured, eyes beginning to burn from lack of oxygen. Soon they were gagging and fell to the ground unconscious.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The girl released their friends from the spell. Her eyes no longer glowed and she gave a naïve smile. "Aren't my spells fun?" She giggled childishly.  
  
"You monster!" Hotaru shouted. "Leave them out of this!"  
  
"But don't they want to be my friends too?"  
  
"Nobody wants to be your friend! I want to be alive again!" Isis growled. The girl's eyes glowed again. Then they instantly stopped.  
  
"Where are the other two boys?" She asked herself quietly.  
  
"You leave Matt and Kive alone!" Hotaru snapped, enraged.  
  
"Stupid mean Hotaru! Don't you yell at me!" the girl shouted at Hotaru and moved her arm up, Hotaru rose from the ground unwillingly, but she struggled desperately to get free.  
  
"Leave her alone!" Isis shouted, dashing at the small girl, only to pass right though her. The girl fell into a fit of laughter as she brought Hotaru down in front of her, still unable to move.  
  
"Ooh! How pretty. Mine now!" She girl taunted, whisping up Hotaru's blade. "Now! Let's see if the mistress of death can be killed!" She laughed evilly. Hotaru stared at her, eyes wide with horror as the girl pressed it lightly to her throat.  
  
"Please don't! I-I...Leave me alone! Just leave me alone!" Hotaru shouted. A purple light flared from her, freeing her from the spell of the girl. The glaive flew to her hands. Hotaru gripped it like it held her life. The girl exploded with red light, much like Hotaru had. The red light surrounded Hotaru, constricting her, trying to squeeze the life out of her.  
  
"Now lets see if you will die!" The girl howled with rage. Hotaru gasped for air. It was taking away her air, her strength, and her energy. The little girl released her. "I almost forgot that I need your power." She said, bitterly. She lifted Hotaru up and put her hand on her forehead. Hotaru struggled to get away, but was weakened. Then Hotaru felt her powers flowing through her veins. She was now even more painfully aware of them. She tried to push them down, keep them from the little monster girl, but they fought her, wanting only release. Sweat trickled down her forehead as she put more effort into her cause. She knocked it into her head that if she failed then the girl would have the power she needed. Hotaru couldn't let it happen. It could NOT happen. She tried to banish them again to the back of her soul but they wished only freedom from her body. It was like a fight against herself, a fight she could not win. She was exhausted. Her body wanted to end the struggle and give in, but she fought even harder. But soon she felt the sign of Saturn glow upon her forehead and she passed out, powers being drained from her easily now. It had been too much for her.  
  
The girl held a magic sphere in her hands. A purple one containing Hotaru's power. She smiled at it evilly and stroked it gently, like it was the most precious thing in the world. She stared at Hotaru, sprawled on the ground limply and laughed.  
  
"Give that back!" Isis screeched.  
  
"But I don't want to!" She laughed. 'Now how to absorb this power...' she began to ponder a solution, acting totally deaf to Isis's protests and fits of anger.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~  
  
"Who are you?! I demand to now!" Kive growled.  
  
"As I've told you in the past, it is none of your concern." The Matt person said indifferently.  
  
"I DEMAND some answers! Every time I ask you something you say the same old thing. 'It is none of your concern.' Hell yea it's my concern! You expect me to follow you around like your faithful lap dog or something and yet you refuse to tell me anything. If I don't get answers I'm staying right here!" Kive spat stubbornly as he stopped walking completely.  
  
"Fine with me...it's your own loss." The Matt person shrugged and walked on. Kive stared at his back with disbelief. Was he really going to leave him there?  
  
"Wait? You're not really going to leave me, right?" Kive asked nervously. The guy walked on, ignoring. "Oh come on! Is wanting answers really that unreasonable?" Kive asked. Again there was no response. Kive felt that his words fell upon deaf ears. He felt a shiver run down his spine. A vision flashed in his head for a split- second of hundreds of ghostly pale hands reaching for him behind his back. He freaked out instantly and began vaulting for Matt's secretive possessor.  
  
"Hmph. I though you said you were going to stay back there?" The guy taunted.  
  
"I just didn't feel like it anymore!" Kive muttered defensively.  
  
"Her tricks are many. She could use visions like that to drive you mad. That's how she gets some of them." He snickered.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Kive asked.  
  
"You wanted answers... She rules this hell realm. She thinks it's for fun when her parents gave it to her and her brother for safeguarding. The city of Rescal was once the center of magic and for generations the magicians' spirits would all end up here before descending into either of the two realms. But a sorcerer came and fought her brother for control. Her brother was stronger than his sister in spirit and psychic magic, but was not as good as he could have been, spending all his time looking after his sister. But eventually, after using most of his magic, the brother defeated the mage. But before the sorcerer took his death he cast a spell on the boy's sister. It was a spell that corrupted her young mind. It was a dark spell that totally severed her bonds with her brother and gave her twice the power she had before. She then banished her brother's body from the realm in its weak state, leaving him alone, causing his heart to turn like cold with his abandonment. Then she began to work deeds that brought shame to her and corrupted her further. She began to hold the spirits of those who died in this god-forsaken abyss. Then she began to kill all the people in the village using her power and holding them here, for she had become lonely without her sibling as well. She left no one in the village alive, only leaving shells of what they used to be. All of the people in Rescal now are the same mindless souls. And anyone else who comes into this village meets the same fate. This was a great problem. She can use her powers very well now. They have become quite strong. Those outside in the streets of Rescal that are poured upon by her rain of blood are killed instantly. Those inside houses she slowly suffocates to death. There is no escape. She can also drive people mad with her images, sometimes convincing them to commit suicide. Stick with me and you'll be fine." He said.  
  
"Wow, that was long. So who was her brother?" Kive asked cluelessly.  
  
"You don't get it, do you. You're quite dense." He muttered.  
  
"What, I don't know. So how do you know so much about her?" Kive asked, even more naively.  
  
"You act so tough, but behind your actions, you lack much common sense. Try to piece together everything I said and try to read in between the lines." He advised.  
  
"But there's nothing to read! You're confusing me! Man, you're a lot like Matt! Nothing you say makes sense." Kive whined.  
  
"I change my mind. I think the word that describes you is not dense, just stupid. I am her brother and I have possessed Matt's body so that I could get into this realm since my body has been banished." He growled.  
  
"Oh, I get it now!" Kive laughed. Matt's possessor rolled his eyes, obviously aggravated.  
  
"Let's go. One of your friends she has already taken, the other two she is toying with, and the last one, Hotaru from what this boys mind keeps on screaming, is being drained of her powers here, in this realm. What could she want with her powers?" He asked himself. 'I don't know why you decided to control my body, but you have to help Hotaru! I think your sister wants her power because she is supposedly some mistress of death or something. You can't let anything happen to her! You just can't! I promised her! I promised her I'd be there for her! I just can't abandon her. Anyways, if she does have those powers and your sister uses them it could be severely dangerous!' Matt's voice echoed in the mind her was sharing with the dark girl's brother.  
  
"Yes, you're right. It could be extremely dangerous. Thank you for informing me on that." He responded, thinking hard.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Kive asked.  
  
"Matt just told me something. We have to find this Hotaru girl fast." He said, picking up his pace. They walked for a few more minutes and came upon a door. Upon it was engraved a carving of ghostly figures dancing about in total darkness. In the center was a handprint. The guy took off Matt's glove and put his hand on it.  
  
"Helios Careb" He boomed.  
  
The doors flew open with a large bang revealing a small, white haired girl surrounded by the dead. In her hands was a purple sphere of magic and before her feet was Hotaru, laying limply.  
  
"Hotaru!" Kive shouted and shot forward. Matt's eyes grew wide and he quickly lashed his hand out, grabbing Kive's arm tightly.  
  
"Fool! You just gave us away! And don't run there! You'll make it even worse! She'll take you too." He hissed. Kive glared at him.  
  
"What are you doing here? Do I know you? Oh yea! You're the other two boys that were with Hotaru! Come here and play with me!" She giggled cheerfully.  
  
"Little demon! You wake up Hotaru right now and restore things to the way they were!" Kive shouted.  
  
"Shut up." Her brother snapped. "Give the girl back her magical powers."  
  
"No way! I want to use them! Then everyone will be my friend!" She protested. "Come on! Play with me."  
  
"If I am to draw closer to you, then it will be for a battle of magic, not to play with you. If I am to win, you will fulfill whatever I request. If I am to lose, then you may have her magic and both my soul and the other boy's." He bargained.  
  
"Yay! That sounds like a fun game! Let's play it." She laughed. She summoned up her magic, which burned red, and he summoned up his, which swirled around him in sashes of black and white. They both chanted exactly the same words and there magic was pitted against each other in a complete draw. She girl flared up her magic and he flared up his. He felt the dead reaching for him, trying to distract him by doing whatever she bade them to. He felt them trying to pull his soul away from Matt's, but tried to keep on concentrating. It was a complete draw. 'When did she get this strong?' He asked himself, shivers running up and down his back and all over him as the souls touched him.  
  
"O' Great spirits of fusion! Grant me the power to influence this battle with the sphere of death that rests within my hands!" She shouted. Purple flared around her and her brother's eyes grew wide with terror as her magic quickly pushed his back.  
  
"No!" He whispered, but in a split-second, the magic overtook him, blasting him back.  
  
"Teehee! I win! I get your soul!" She laughed. She walked towards him as he struggled to get up. All of a sudden, blue magic flare around him as well as black and white and his eyes returned to their normal blue.  
  
"I won't break my promise, even if you are using her magic!" Matt growled.  
  
"Oh great, Matt's back." Kive growled.  
  
"Shut it, Kive." Matt growled. "So little girl. You're about to pay for what you did to my friends." Matt's blue magic surged around him in a flurry. Matt let every inch of it flow out and around him, setting it all for this one purpose. He felt a great mass stored with in him and her dragged it up, letting it pound in his veins. Then he just let it all go and it flew at her, pushing her away and eventually overpowering her. She fell to her knees. A purple sphere flew from her hands and fell into Hotaru, who blinked and sat up tiredly. Matt collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily, all the black armor gone and completely back to normal. Before him stood a boy his age with white hair and crimson eyes.  
  
"Thank you Matt." He said softly. Then he turned to his sister.  
  
"Helios!" She gasped.  
  
"Lunari." He nodded.  
  
"But I banished you!" She growled with the voice not her own.  
  
"Be gone Solaris. I killed you already, now uncorrupt my little sister." He demanded.  
  
"No, never!" Solaris growled. He sent his white magic and it coursed through her body. A black spirit flew from her, releasing her.  
  
"Big brother! I'm so sorry! I don't know why I did it!" Lunari cried, running to her brother and hugging him. He blushed and hugged her back.  
  
"Thank you again Matt. You're always welcome here. After I have restore everything back to normal." He said. "I'll transport you and all your friends on the boundaries outside this town. Come back here someday after it's restored." He nodded.  
  
"O-Okay. Thanks." Matt panted and collapsed.  
  
"Matt!" Hotaru shouted, running towards him.  
  
"He'll be fine. He just used up all his magic. Don't worry." Helios assured.  
  
"Thank you." Hotaru said. And with that she found herself staring at all her friends. At last that whole thing was over. She stared down at Matt worriedly.  
  
"He should come around soon." She whispered to herself. "In the meanwhile, we'll wait for him." She smiled at Matt. All that he had done. He really was a wonderful person.  
  
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That was truly dumb! Oh well. I spent time on it so it went up. Ignore me and my stupidity and lack of ideas. Bu bye. I have to get off now. I'm grounded. Please review! 


	12. Hope Introduction

Hi!! *dies* don't look for errors! When you write pages upon pages of stuff it's not easy to proofread. I offered Lynn to help me with that but she refused, so yea. Anyways, I know I shouldn't read it before I post it, because then I wont post it. I'm really not too fond of my own writing. So, like yea. MEWIE READ MY OTHER FIC!!! *dies* I'm so embarrassed! *dies again* I'm gonna get majorly grounded soon. Like really soon for a long time. Lets see if I can get this posted before then.  
  
SM: Why do you love embarrassing me?  
  
Megumi: Because its so fun! Anyways! YOU ATE ALL MY DONUTS YESTERDAY!! Here I was thinking I could leave you by yourself for one day and what do you do? You frickin raided my house for donuts! Some friend you are.  
  
SM: It was like half a box! Half a box! That's all! Anyways, how could I resist?  
  
Megumi: NO MORE DONUTS YOU DISOBEDIENT SERVANT!!!! *screamscreamyellyell*  
  
SM: Eep, scary. I'm sorry for eating your donuts! Really I am!  
  
*Grins* I have you eating out of the palm of my hand!  
  
NYANYA!!! Chapter 12. Yay! I'm sorry. I'll go into it.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or Sailor Moon. I do own all original characters and the plot! Wee! Now, on to the next chapter.  
  
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If Darkness Could Befriend Chapter 12: Hope  
  
"Matt? Are you okay?" Hotaru asked. Matt rubbed his eyes and sat up.  
  
"I feel so wasted." Matt sighed and laid back down.  
  
"Come on Matt. We have to leave." Hotaru sighed. She really didn't want to make Matt be miserable or anything, but they did have to move.  
  
"But where are we going?" Matt asked, pushing himself up. 'Obviously not Shiyoko if Kive can help it.' Matt thought to himself.  
  
"Um, I'm not to sure. You're the one with the map." She said. Matt sighed and shook off his weariness.  
  
"About time you got up, you bum!" Kive shouted. Everyone stared at him. Kive rolled his eyes. "I can never win, can I?" He growled inaudibly. They walked on the whole time. Hotaru sighed to herself. 'I feel so useless. It's always someone else doing something. I should really try next time. I feel like I'm using Matt and Kive as my shields or something. I don't need a shield, right?' She asked herself.  
  
"What are you thinking, Hotaru?" Shadow Matt asked.  
  
"Huh? Me? Oh nothing. So what are the next ruins?" Hotaru avoided the subject. Shadow Matt sighed and asked Matt.  
  
"Matt? Where are we headed next?" SM asked. Matt stared at him wearily and shoved the map at him.  
  
"You decide." He croaked.  
  
"Matt? Are you okay?" SM asked.  
  
"Don't worry SM, he's never in his right mind." Kive muttered. "So where are we going?" Kive asked.  
  
"Relax...I'm not going to randomly say that we should go to Shiyoko. It's out of the way now. Where do you think we should go?"  
  
"I thought we already decided on the ruins of hope." Kive pointed out.  
  
"Oh whoops. You're right." Shadow Matt said. "Man Kive, I'm worried about Matt. Do you think he's okay?"  
  
"No, He's never been okay, but who cares?" Kive shrugged.  
  
"You ought to be nicer to him." Shadow Matt said. Kive shrugged it off.  
  
"Yea, I agree with SM, what's so bad about Matt?" Isis asked.  
  
"He's an idiot." Kive pointed out.  
  
"Can you guys please not talk like I'm not right next to you?" Matt rasped. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, dark circles underneath them.  
  
"You look like a zombie." Kive chortled.  
  
"Shut up." Matt replied. Kive rolled his eyes and ignored Matt.  
  
"I hate walking. Why can't we get horses?" Kive asked.  
  
"A horse would be nice." Matt murmured. Hotaru frowned, thinking.  
  
"I don't know, Kive. It's not like any of us has too much money, right?" Hotaru asked politely.  
  
"I have as much as you want to spend." Kive said, smiling warmly.  
  
"I'm serious, Kive. If we want horses we need money, and Matt and I don't have too much money. Isis, SM, and Kiyon probably don't have any, and, well, how much can you have?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"I am serious." Kive shrugged. "But maybe we could find free horses. That would be nice. Wanna check the map?" Kive asked. Hotaru stared at him awkwardly and looked on the map. Her eyes darted around quickly and found a place.  
  
"Kive, this place says Midori Ranch." She said, pointing out the place.  
  
"Hey! And what do you know, it's right next to the ruins of hope! We can go to the ruins then, when we get out, we'll have horses. Nice find Hotaru!" Kiyon said, standing on his tippy-toes to see the map SM was holding. SM bent down so Kiyon could see it better.  
  
"Okay then. Let's go there. That is, if Matt can walk that far." Kive said. Matt glared at him and they began to walk.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
They reached the ranch by twilight. There was barely enough light to supply them with proper sight so the blazing lights of a large house in the back of the ranch seemed to draw them like moths. They picked up their paced until they were at the house. It was much to late to attempt going to the Ruins of Hope. Hotaru knocked on the door softly. They heard the rustle of footsteps within the house. The door was swiftly pulled open to reveal a pair of jade green eyes twinkling adventurously atop skin that had slightly been bronzed by labor in the sun. She looked to be about the ruler's age and had tough muscles, boasting of her hard work and her long chocolate hair had been messily braided to keep from her face. Hotaru blinked and ceased studying the girl as she realized that she was being spoken to.  
  
"Excuse me? How may I help you?" The girl asked a sweet song- like voice that didn't match her look  
  
"My friends and I have been traveling here for horses, but I'm afraid we couldn't make it in the day so we are in need of shelter. If you'd rather not then it's understandable. We could camp somewhere..." Hotaru was cut off as the girl shook her head.  
  
"It's fine! Don't worry about it. Of course you can stay!" she laughed. "There's lots of room here. We'll discuss the horses later." She smiled and let them in. She frowned as Matt and Kive entered. But her eyes were stuck on Matt. "You look horrible." She said to Matt. Matt frowned.  
  
"I feel terrible." He muttered.  
  
"Severe magic fatigue." She said.  
  
"Yea, I think so. I have two magic vials. I found that the green recovered magic and health and the red recovered just health so a sipped a little of the green. It didn't help at all." Matt informed her. She nodded.  
  
"I think you lost all your magic. I've seen it happen to someone once. It'll come back after a few days, but you'll feel terribly weak in the days without your magic." She replied. "It's one of those things that you can't help with potions. You just have to regain it with rest. That means you should rest. There are rooms up the stairs. Choose whichever you like and I mean it, rest." She said sternly.  
  
"Good night guys." Matt said, stumbling up the stairs wearily.  
  
"How could you make him walk all the way here? That poor boy is totally drained." She scolded. "But what's done is done. He really has to rest! I'm sorry. I've been so rude. My name is Uma and I manage this horse ranch."  
  
"I'm Hotaru. The boy who you sent up was Matt. This is Isis, that's Shadow Matt, that's Kiyon, and this is Kive." Hotaru introduced.  
  
"Kive? I know you!" She laughed.  
  
"Ahem, that's not important." He grumbled.  
  
"Okay. I recognize you now. It's been so long. I thought you were someone else that I know, but then I realized who you were." She laughed. Kive rolled his eyes.  
  
"What are you doing here anyways? I thought about three years ago you said you couldn't come here anymore." She pointed out.  
  
"Well I'm free to do what I want to do now. Let's get away from this subject please?" Kive said nervously.  
  
"Okay. You know, now you look a lot like someone I met a long time ago." She said in thought.  
  
"That's nice. But why talk about me! I mean, I'm your life has been just as interesting." He pointed out, a little tweaked out of place.  
  
"Oh, nothing much. I'm all alone as usual, just like when you left." She sighed.  
  
"Wait! How do you know Kive?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"Oh there was a little problem at the horse stable back at Kive's town. You see, for some reason, Kive isn't too good with animals. Horses had never let him ride them, which was preposterous for someone of his status. Then when all the horses at the stables sort of stampeded him four years ago it was sort of like the last straw and his adopted father knew they had to do something. For Kive's sake they shipped him off to me because even though I'm young I have a way with horses. Kive stayed here for about a year and almost all the horses here didn't really like him, but they did accept him, which was a definite improvement. So I taught him here how to care for a horse and how to get them to tolerate you. He was a lot better with horses by the time he left. Apparently now he can stand being around one." She laughed. Kive rolled his eyes.  
  
"Thanks for revealing something about me that I didn't want revealed." He growled. She waved him off.  
  
"Anyways. You guys should eat something. After dinner bring up some for Matt. Then off to bed. From what I picked up, you guys have been traveling for a while. They nodded and she led them to the kitchen.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
Hotaru walked out the door to find Uma sitting in the middle of the large ranch, watching the sunrise. Hotaru frowned at how early it was. Uma turned around, sensing her footsteps.  
  
"You're up early." Uma said.  
  
"Yah, I couldn't go back to sleep." Hotaru replied. Uma patted the ground next to her, beckoning Hotaru to sit and watch the sunrise with her. Hotaru obeyed.  
  
"So what brought you here anyways?" Uma asked.  
  
"Kive wanted horses." Hotaru said.  
  
"So that's it?" She prodded.  
  
"No, but I don't know if you would understand." Hotaru sighed.  
  
"Oh do try me." Uma said.  
  
"Well, um okay. Do you like the ruler?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"I don't know. We never interact obviously. He just sort of leaves me alone I guess." She sighed.  
  
"Oh, well. He's not the best guy in the world, as you probably know. He doesn't care about the people in Esirnus. I don't know what he cares about, but he's pretty dark and evil. Not the ideal personality if you'd ask me. So anyways, we're supposed to remove him from power and apparently we can only do so if we retrieve crests from each of the nine ruins in Esirnus to keep him from ruling this whole world. He's some kind of mage sword-fighter from what I can tell. I just don't understand him, but I can willingly say that I don't like him one bit." Hotaru said grudgingly.  
  
"I see. Well, the ruins of Hope are right behind this ranch. Good luck. Oh yes. Don't take Matt. If you do then it will take him even longer to recover." She said sternly.  
  
"I don't know. We sort of need Matt. He's sort of like our leader." She sighed.  
  
"He'll do no leading in this shape." She commanded.  
  
"But I won't feel right if I leave him here by himself." She sighed.  
  
"Aww, c'mon! It's for his own good." She said, giving Hotaru a playful sock to the shoulder.  
  
"I suppose..." Hotaru murmured. "It's for the best."  
  
"Don't worry. I'll take care of your boyfriend." She laughed.  
  
"Kive wouldn't be happy if he caught you calling Matt that." Hotaru warned.  
  
"Aww! My little Kive's got a crush? And here I was thinking that he was totally anti-social when it comes to girls!" Uma laughed again.  
  
"I heard that!" Kive growled. Both of them looked behind them to see Kive standing there.  
  
"Good morning Kive." Both girls said cheerfully.  
  
"Good morning." Kive said. "Uma! What do you mean that I'm anti-social with girls!" Kive growled.  
  
"Oh Kive! You told me yourself that girls scared you." She teased.  
  
"I never said that! Stop lying. And if I did it was back then. I was young and stupid." Kive pouted.  
  
"Okay, okay. I was just joking Kive. What happened to your sense of humor? You used to be such a fireball. Or are you just nervous around your crush?" Uma laughed. Kive's eyes widened in protest and his face glowed red.  
  
"I-I.....you don't have to say that!" Kive shouted, embarrassed.  
  
"I'm sorry Kive. You know I was just joking, right?" Uma said, truly apologizing. Kive nodded. "Hey, Kive! Do you want to see the horses? I'm sure Nightfall missed you." Uma suggested. Kive nodded. "You too, Hotaru?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. I want to see the horses!" She said with a smile.  
  
"Okay! Let's go!" She said, steering them toward the stables. "It's time to let them out anyways."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
Uma opened the door and all the horses neighed in welcome. She smiled.  
  
"Hey guys! Kive's come back!" All the horses where dead quiet as they stared over at Kive. Kive backed up nervously. Then all the horses neighed another welcome. Kive let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"Forgive me, guys. The horses over at my home are not very fond of me." Kive said with a shudder. Suddenly one of the horses struggled out of its stall and bolted for Kive. Kive shouted as the horse rammed into him, knocking him down. The horse shoved its face into his, studying him before backing away with assurance. It trotted around happily. "Hello Nightfall." Kive managed to choke out as he pulled himself up. The horse whinnied a response of happiness. Then it spotted Hotaru and straightened up, acting serious.  
  
"Oh. Hi Nightfall. I'm Hotaru. I'm Kive's friend. Don't worry. You can goof around. I won't mind!" She laughed. The horse began to trot around again. She tilted her head and studied the horse. It was a black horse with white socks and diamond on its forehead. Its black tail swished around, creating a drawing affect because of its white tips.  
  
"Why is my horse so abnormal?" Kive grumbled to himself. His horse stared up with big, innocent eyes filled with hurt. It hung its head dejectedly and slowly began to slink away. "I-I...NO!!! Don't take it that way! I missed you too! I like having an abnormal horse!" Kive blurted out apologetically. The horse perked up again and continued its horse dance. Everyone sweatdropped staring at Kive's weird horse friend. Hotaru stared over at Kive and saw he was smiling. That made her smile too.  
  
"You know, it's been so long. Last time I saw him he was so small." Kive sighed. "I didn't recognize him until he plowed into me." Uma smiled too and she opened the door and let all the horses out. A shout of, "Oh my GOOOOOSSSHHHH!!!" and a smash on the ground sounded from outside. They all whipped around and found SM sprawled on the ground, hoof prints all over him.  
  
"Owwww." Shadow Matt groaned. Everyone sweatdropped. Hotaru pulled him up.  
  
"Shadow Matt, are you okay?" She said worriedly. He groaned and dusted himself off.  
  
"It feels like I got trampled by a herd of horses."  
  
"You did." Kive said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"I know. I saw them running and then I turned to run around but then....I sort of...tripped." SM sighed. "But amazingly I think I'm fine!"  
  
"You should have just gone in the shadow." Kive said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Oh yea huh! I didn't think of that!" SM said with a nervous laugh.  
  
"And HOW did he beat Dark Shadow Matt?" Kive muttered under his breath.  
  
"Hey!!! That's not nice! But then again, I sort of didn't. Isis did." SM said, looking away embarrassed. Everyone sighed.  
  
"That was RHETORICAL you retard!!!" Kive shouted.  
  
"Geez, I'm sorry!" Shadow Matt replied.  
  
"Kive. Don't be mean!" Hotaru commanded. Kive sighed and calmed down.  
  
"So what's for breakfast?" Kive asked.  
  
"Kive its like six in the morning. Are your other friends even up?" Uma pointed out.  
  
"Yea. Good point." He sighed.  
  
"Kive groom and feed the horses. I'll cook your breakfast." She said, walking away.  
  
"But Uma!!! I don't remember..." He sighed, seeing that she was ignoring him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
Uma sighed, seeing Kiyon and Isis in her kitchen. She stared at the two. They were covered in flour and looked like specters in a fog, the fog being the flour particles still left floating. She sighed and walked to the door in the back of the kitchen. Her hand pushed off the door, letting in a breeze and fresh air; a relief from them white dust.  
  
"We're sorry Uma. My brother always used to use flour to make pancakes and I figured that with a girl the cooking wouldn't get messed up like the other time I tried when I was little so I brought Isis down, even though she told me she couldn't cook. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to drop the flour bag, and I'm sure there's still some more flour in it! I'm sure! I'm so sorry!" He said quickly in one breath. She laughed.  
  
"Aww. It's okay! You're so adorable!" She said, roughing up his hair. She looked down at her hand, seeing it was coated in white. She sighed and began to dust off his hair while Isis dusted off hers. After a while everything got all cleaned up.  
  
"Why do you guys get up so early? And why didn't you ask me to help you?" She laughed.  
  
"Oh, well, we just wake up early since we try to travel as early as we can so we can catch the daylight. Also, we wanted to try by ourselves. We're sorry Uma." Isis sighed.  
  
"Oh, its okay. Once this friend of mine was here and he tried to cook me something. The place was a total absolute mess. You'd think that something had exploded in the kitchen, and I bet something did." She laughed. "I'll teach you how to cook pancakes, okay?" She offered. They nodded feverously.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
"So do any of you know how to ride?" Kive asked. SM and Hotaru both shook their heads no. Kive shrugged. "So do either of you care to try?" He asked.  
  
"I think SM wants to go first." Hotaru said nervously. SM gulped.  
  
"Oh this should be a riot. I wanna see this!" Kive chuckled. SM's eyes widened with agitation.  
  
"Y-You are planning on helping me, right?" SM asked shakily.  
  
"And miss watching you fall on your butt, no WAY! Anyways, where's the fun in helping you?" Kive taunted, smiling as he tossed a saddle at Shadow Matt. Hotaru sighed as SM picked it up unwillingly.  
  
"Kive, don't make SM do it!" Hotaru commanded.  
  
"Aw! C'mon! It'll be such a riot!" Kive begged. As they were discussing SM went around and looked at the horses cautiously.  
  
"Umm, Kive? Which one should I ride?" SM asked. A sly smirk crawled onto Kive's face.  
  
"I think you should try to ride that one." Kive said, gesturing to a lone horse. All the horses shied away from that one as it shot territorial looks at them. Shadow Matt stared in horror at the horse.  
  
"T-T-T-That one? Are you sure?" SM asked in total horror.  
  
"Sure? Why not?" Kive shrugged. Hotaru socked him in the shoulder angrily.  
  
"Don't give him the meanest horse. Why are you so terrible?" Hotaru protested.  
  
"I'm not." Kive said innocently. "Really, it may look mean, but it's a pretty old, wise, kind horse. The horses stay clear out of their respect for it." Kive said, nodding.  
  
"Umm, I don't want to." SM said, scooting away.  
  
"Go you chicken." Kive growled.  
  
"I may be a chicken but at least I'm not a DEAD chicken." Shadow Matt pointed out, still backing off.  
  
"Just try it. I wanna see you try it. He really isn't a mean horse. He's very slow and good-tempered. Don't let his appearance unnerve you." Kive said, fakely encouraging.  
  
"Kive, stop it already!" Hotaru argued. Kive gave her pleading eyes and turned back to SM.  
  
"Go already you big lunk!" Kive shouted.  
  
"I-I..." Shadow Matt said, confused. "Do I have to?"  
  
"Yes." Kive growled. Shadow Matt sighed and went towards the horse. Slowly, he inched closer to the monstrosity of a horse until he was a few yards away. The horse's ears flattened against his head and it let out an angry snort of a warning. Shadow Matt froze in his place.  
  
"Nice Horse?" Shadow Matt said timidly. At that the horse let out a blood-curdling screech and made a wild dash for Shadow Matt, who began screaming like a mad man while running for his life.  
  
"You LIIEEEEEEEEDDD!!!!!!" Shadow Matt's voice carried through the wind as he darted past them. Kive was cracking up. He was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. Hotaru stared in horror as the situation unfolded. The horse was constantly gaining on poor Shadow Matt, who had the life scared out of him.  
  
"Go in the shadows!" Hotaru screamed. In an instant Shadow Matt had disappeared and the horse stopped from its charging to wonder where its victim had gone. Then after a while it gave up and settled to eating its grass again.  
  
"Aww, Hotaru, you spoiled it." Kive said, rubbing his eyes. He had been crying from laughing too hard.  
  
"That was so rotten Kive!" Hotaru growled.  
  
"Aw, c'mon. He's fine isn't he?" Kive laughed.  
  
"KIVE! Be serious!" Hotaru argued.  
  
"But that would ruin my personality." He whined.  
  
"And that's a BAD thing?" She grumbled to herself. Kive's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to say something but then thought better about it. Suddenly the black figure of Shadow Matt slunk up besides them. The horse's attention suddenly snapped back to poor Shadow Matt. SM's eyes grew wide and he made a break for it. Hotaru and Kive gulped, realizing that the horse would charge them to get through to SM.  
  
"Oh shoot!" They shouted as they darted off to the side, just a second before the horse trampled the area where they had been standing. They both let out sighs of relief, but with Shadow Matt there was definitely no relief at that moment.  
  
"Why is it so sunny here?" Shadow Matt shouted, the horse on his tail and gaining fast. Shadow Matt ran as fast as he could, but unfortunately luck came into play. Bad luck. SM tripped and landed on the ground with a thud and the horse stared down at him with a sinister horse expression. SM wondered if these horses were more human than was normal, seeing from the behavior of Kive's horse and this insane horse. As the horse reared to stomp him he rolled out of the way. All of a sudden the crazy horse flew and hit the gate, as if it had been greatly impacted. SM blinked and stared at the horse that had charged the other of its kind. It wasn't as big as the other horse, and it didn't look as strong, but it had a certain threatening fire in its eyes. Its coat was a gray color, definitely nothing spectacular, but its mane and tail were a deeper, shinier gray that in the sun, appeared to shine like silver. It had a beautiful white moon adorning its forehead. It gave the fallen horse an acknowledging nod as it got up and slumped away in defeat. Then the horse turned to SM, who cringed back against the ground from previous experiences. The horse pushed its nose into his face and snorted an approval as SM stared in horror. Then it grabbed the collar of his shirt and hoisted him to his feet. SM blinked and began to pet its face. It gave him a disapproving stare and nudged his hand higher so that he petted its forehead. 'Definitely not normal horses.' SM thought to himself. After a little of that it grabbed him by the collar again. SM's tilted his head in confusion. All of a sudden the horse tossed him up in the air as he gave a startled shout and came hurtling, only to land on the horses back. SM's eyes and jaw were wide open, and his heart was beating extremely fast as the horse trotted over to Kive and Hotaru and kneeled down for him to get off. He slid off, still in shock. The horse then turned its gaze to Kive and snorted in his face.  
  
"Nice to see you too, Blade." Kive muttered, voice dripping with sarcasm. The horse turned around, whipping its tail in his face.  
  
"Umm, hi Blade?" Hotaru greeted shyly. The horse turned back around, once again hitting Kive in the face with its tail. Kive bared his teeth in anger. The horse looked at Hotaru and brushed its nose against her hand. Hotaru smiled.  
  
"He's quite a nice horse, isn't he?" Hotaru said happily.  
  
"Umm, Hotaru?" Kive spoke up.  
  
"Blade's not a guy. She's one of Nightfall's sisters at that. But the last time I saw her she was a squirt. And let me tell you, she may have grown, but her personality sadly hasn't changed." Kive snorted. "I can understand why Uma called her Blade. She's like a sword cutting a helping hand."  
  
"Hey Kive, watch it. Blade just saved me from that monster of a horse. And need I remind you that it was YOUR fault that I was in that jam in the first place." SM pointed out.  
  
"Hey, are you blaming me?" Kive growled.  
  
"Oh come on. Not trying to be mean or anything but you flat out lied to me and nearly got me killed." SM pointed out.  
  
"Well, it's not my fault you were stupid enough to-" Kive started.  
  
"Okay, okay. First Kive, you shouldn't have done that. It was down right dirty. You could have gotten him KILLED! Next, do you remember that Shadow Matt saved all our butts? You ought to be more grateful. Also, I don't want anymore arguing. You'd figure that with poor Matt out, you'd just turn into a normal person." Hotaru growled.  
  
"I'm more normal than that stupid idiot, Matt."  
  
"Matt's not a stupid idiot for the last time. You really need to learn how to respect other people. No one's ever going to accept you if you continue acting like that. I don't understand why you can't just be nice for once in life!  
  
"What! Don't yell at me like that! I already get enough of it back home." Kive shouted back.  
  
"Well I can understand why!" Hotaru scoffed.  
  
"And who are you to say anything about me? You're just some out of place girl who can't do anything. You're totally useless!" Kive exploded. Hotaru's eyes grew big and then narrowed.  
  
"So that's what you think of me. You are a liar. And you know what, you're a fake and a jerk and a total loser. Matt was right!" Hotaru spat back, tears forming in her eyes. "I-I never want to see you again." Hotaru sobbed and ran to the house, slamming the door behind her.  
  
"Whoa. Did you just scream at her? Man, you're terrible. You made her cry." Shadow Matt said. "Hotaru wait!" He shouted and went after her, leaving Kive alone. Kive put his hand over his mouth. What had he done? He turned to Blade.  
  
"D-Did I really say all that?" Kive choked out. The horse nodded and kicked him before walking away. "I'm really horrible. I made Hotaru cry. What am I going to do?" He sighed, feeling totally guilty. He sat down, trying to think of something.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
"Hotaru are you okay?" SM asked, grabbing her wrist. He had caught her walking up the stairs.  
  
"I'm fine. J-Just a-absolutely f-fine." She said, trying to sound assuring. Her lip quivered and she turned away. I just don't want to see him anymore." She said and pulled away from him. "I'm just going to go to my room for a while." She said, dashing up the stairs and into a room.  
  
"But Hotaru-" Shadow Matt called, but it was too late. "That's Matt's room."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
As soon as she entered the room she began to cry. He was right and she hated it. She had no right to yell at him. He was just fooling around a bit. And she was useless. Totally and utterly useless. She sunk down against the door and buried her face in her hands. All of a sudden she heard a sound of someone sitting up.  
  
"Hotaru!" Matt choked.  
  
"Matt?" She squeaked.  
  
"Hotaru? Somethings wrong isn't it?" He asked, getting worried.  
  
"No, No! Nothings wrong. Go back to sleep. You'll need it!" She squeaked again and stood up. She struggled to keep her tears contained as she fumbled around for the doorknob.  
  
"Hotaru, I feel much better from yesterday. But I've been, umm, lonely. Could you just sit here for a few more minutes?" He asked. She stared at him with teary purple eyes. How could she refuse? She took a seat on the bed next to him and they sat there for a few minutes in silence. "Hotaru, you know you can tell me if you're upset about something." Matt sighed.  
  
"Oh, but nothing's wrong, Matt." She said, but her voice betrayed her and she couldn't help but let out a sob. Matt's eyes softened with worry.  
  
"There's something wrong Hotaru, and you don't have to tell, me, but then Hotaru, you don't have to lie to me, either." Matt sighed.  
  
"I'm sorry Matt." Her voice trembled. He put his hand on hers and pulled her closer to him.  
  
"Hotaru, its okay to cry if you need to. I wont laugh or tell you to shut up. I'm just here to help, if I can." Then he hugged her, blushing terribly and tried to pull away, but Hotaru clung to the back of his shirt. He stopped trying to pull away and let her cry on him. After a while she stopped and rested her head on his shoulder while he still continued to blush terribly.  
  
"S-So, what happened anyway?" Matt asked.  
  
"I was mean to Kive." Hotaru sighed.  
  
"Oh? So this has to do with Kive, now." Matt asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Yes, but I can't blame him. He was right. I have no business talking about him when I barely even know him, I mean, we've only known him for like a week or two, and I have know business to yell at him or anyone else. And he was right. I am totally useless. I can't do anything and I haven't helped you guys yet. It's always someone else doing the bulk of the load. I never knew he thought that way about me though. I guess that I have no judgment either. He must have hated me." She whispered.  
  
"Don't say that, Hotaru. Don't put yourself down like that. If you keep thinking that then that's the way you'll be. And you're not useless. You heal us and you're a voice of logic among us. You're nice and always willing to lend a hand. I don't see how you're useless. Just because you haven't gotten to beat up some gigantic bad guy or something. You have your part in this adventure and I have a feeling that sometime in the future we'll be relying on you to save our butts. And as for Kive, I can't believe I'm standing up for him, but it has to be said. Somewhere in that egotistical head of him, I think, is a pretty decent guy. I mean, he hasn't killed me yet, you know, so it's not like you judged him wrong. I think right know, his minds somewhere else, because he's seeming to get easier and easier to irritate the more we travel. I think he's afraid of going home and I think that coming here served as a real reminder of his home and what lies over there. I think he's getting stressed, so I wouldn't be too hard on the guy, even if he is a big fat jerk. And anyways, out of our whole group I believe he trusts and cares about you the most. He's probably hating himself right now for yelling at you, so don't stress yourself over it too much." Matt said with a smile. Hotaru sat straight to look at him and nodded, no longer teary-eyed.  
  
"Thanks so much, Matt. And I thought you hated Kive." Hotaru said with a smile.  
  
"Don't get me wrong, I'm no where close to being his best buddy or whatever, but back in the first ruins, I saw I side of him that proved him to be better than he seemed, which sort of helps me look past the fact that we hate each other's guts." Matt said, smirking playfully. "Now, don't worry yourself and go back out there. You guys need to head to those ruins, and well, I don't think Uma want me to go." He said, rubbing his eyes and yawning. "I'm starting to get awfully sleepy again."  
  
"Okay, thanks again Matt." She said and got up and walked to the door. At the doorway she paused and looked back. Amazingly Matt lay sleeping like he hadn't been disturbed. 'He lied. He's not feeling better. He just wanted to help me. I feel bad for tiring him out.' She thought to herself as she opened the door. She shut it softly and walked down the stairs.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
They all felt awkward without Matt there. It felt like they had left something essential behind as they approached the ruins of hope. Hotaru and Kive hadn't shared glances once since the incident. Both were afraid that the other was still mad and they didn't want to risk spoiling their friendship further. Despite what Matt said, Hotaru still couldn't help but feel that Kive didn't truly like her as his friend. Or at least not after arguing with him. Kive figured that with what he had said to her, she must totally hate him.  
  
"Are you guys sure you're fine?" Shadow Matt asked. They both nodded.  
  
"I don't get it. Did something happen between the two of you?" Isis asked.  
  
"I bet it was Kive's fault." Kiyon snickered. Kive glared at Kiyon for a split second but then stared at the ground in shame. He did believe it was his fault. He HAD called her useless after all, which he believed was far from the truth.  
  
"So do you think that we'll be able to get in without Matt?" SM asked.  
  
"We'll see as soon as we see the ruins." Hotaru said. They approached the center of the ruins and imprinted on the ground was a weird lighthouse like figure. Everyone blinked. It appeared that there was no indent for anything to be put in. They all began searching across the symbol with their fingers.  
  
"I found something." Isis called.  
  
"What is that?" Hotaru asked, squinting. It appeared to be a very small indent for something with many points. She beckoned everyone to come closer and the all began to peer closely. "Does anyone have anything like that?" Hotaru asked, doubtfully. Everyone was silent. All of a sudden Kiyon pulled out a small sun-shaped charm and offered it to her. "Wow, where'd you get that thing?" Hotaru asked, accepting it and squinting at it. "It's nice." Hotaru said with a smile.  
  
"Thank you Hotaru. I've had it since I before I could remember. Hakiyo has one two. He said our parents gave it to us. I wouldn't know." He sighed. "I wish Hakiyo would come and get me soon."  
  
"Don't worry, your brother will find us. We need him to be able to get all the crests so he must still be out there somewhere. We'll take care of you, okay?" Hotaru assured with a smile. The smile was fake and he could see it.  
  
"Okay, Isis and I are totally in the dark. Why can't you guys just tell us what wrong?" Kiyon whined.  
  
"It's none of your business, kid." Kive snapped.  
  
"Okay, but I want an explanation about why, when I asked SM where Hotaru was he said in Matt's room and when I went to knock on the door I heard sobbing." Isis said softly, but warningly.  
  
"You talked to Matt..." Kive growled.  
  
"It was an accident, Kive. She wasn't paying attention and she went in the wrong room." Shadow Matt stood up for her. "And it was your fault in the first place." SM added in inaudibly.  
  
"I'll never here the end of it! He'll eat me alive. Why of all people did you have to run to him? That idiot probably criticized me, didn't he? He probably made you hate me more." Kive growled, not meeting her eyes. "Well, say it. I know you hate me." He said.  
  
"Stop being so childish." She growled, shoving the sun in the indent. The light flashed all around them, taking them into the ruins.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~  
  
"Where are we?" SM asked, looking around. It was a grassy field littered with a bunch of toys and large building blocks. It was very colorful. In the center was a girl with golden hair tied up in a ponytail near the top of her head by an emerald swallowtail butterfly hair ornament to match her fiery green eyes which, at that moment were glued to a book that looked to ancient for her young eyes. She word a golden dress adorned by long sleeves with slits than ran down them from her shoulder, allowing them to fall loosely around her arms and her skirt was short to allow free movement. The trim was green and across her neck hung a green stone from a golden chain. Kiyon blinked and walked over to her, despite the others beckoning to come back. Only until he stood right above her did she lower her book and lift her glance up to it.  
  
"Hi. Watcha doin' here?" She asked.  
  
"I'm here because my friends are here." He answered. "That's an awfully hard book." He said with awe.  
  
"Yea, but my sister says that before I can play over at her place I have to learn more about the world, and to do that I have to read. I must say I don't understand, but my sister comes back every week to explain it to me." She explained.  
  
"Wait, are you one of the nine maidens?" Kiyon asked.  
  
"Oh yes! I am! You're sharp! My names Tali, maiden of Hope!" She said cheerfully.  
  
"I'm Kiyon and I'm confused. Don't you have eight sisters then?" He asked.  
  
"Yah, I suppose. We're all bonded by the magical ring to each other and our 'mother.' Thus, like her, we have accepted an eternal life. But I'm only truly related to one of the other maidens." She explained.  
  
"Oh." Kiyon said. "So what can you do? What abilities do you have?"  
  
"Well, I'm not as good as the other maidens because I'm one of the youngest, but I have my friends!" She giggled. She whistled and out of the ground popped three baby Pegasus, one white, one black and one gold. "We like to play games."  
  
"Aww, how CUTE!" Hotaru squealed. The girls gaze shifted instantly to the others standing back.  
  
"Umm, forgive me, but are you Hotaru?" She asked.  
  
"Umm, yes?" Hotaru replied nervously.  
  
"But then where's that 'Matt' that's always around? I'm supposed to be testing him too right? Hey! Aren't you Isaki's kitty?" The girl asked, squinting at Isis. Isis nodded. "Oh come here already! Let me look at you all better!" She commanded. They were all instantly closer. "Yeah, you're the kitty Isaki told me about. Wow, Isaki's so dull, I wouldn't think she'd change one of her friends human!" She giggled.  
  
"Hey, can you just give us the crest?" Kive asked, irritated.  
  
"But I'm supposed to TEST you! My sisters will be mad if I let you by. We'll have failed and let the ruler win." She sighed.  
  
"I don't get it, why can't you just knock the guy out of power?" Kive asked, rolling his eyes. "Pretty weak entities if you ask me."  
  
"I don't know if even immortal mages like the nine maidens and their mother could defeat him. Isn't it wrong for them to meddle? Plus, he's pretty powerful, my ex-master. He has inhuman power, but he seems mortal enough. He never told me anything, always just do this and do that, and usually it was only a one word command." SM frowned.  
  
"You're his minion?" Tali pressed.  
  
"No, he wants me dead. And if you EVER run into someone who looks exactly like me, don't trust him, okay? I have a very dangerous twin." SM advised.  
  
"Yes sir." She laughed.  
  
"So can we get that crest? I want to get OUT!" Kive said.  
  
"Crabby, aren't we? Well, you have to play with my horses and then if I think I should give them to you then I will." She said. "Hey, Kiyon. While I test your friends you wanna play with me?" She offered. "I only have one other friend my age, so it would be nice to have your company while my friends play their games with yours." Kiyon stared back at the group. They nodded. "YAY!" She sang. "But you guys, don't think I'm soft, just because I'm younger. My horses play with death so you can still back out now if you want to." She suggested.  
  
"I think we have to do this." Hotaru pointed out.  
  
"Don't say I didn't warn you!" She said sternly.  
  
" We understand." Hotaru said.  
  
"Moon dust, Night sky, Sun ray, have fun!" She called. The three horses nodded and began to make a circle in the air and in a flash a portal appeared and the Pegasus flew into it.  
  
"Go ahead. You're supposed to go into it." Tali told them with her usual grin. "Don't worry! I'll take good care of Kiyon!" She assured as they stepped through.  
  
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"Where are we?" Hotaru asked. They were in a place surrounded by every type of landscape you could think of. Below them was some weird sort of alter with eight indents. Suddenly there was a poof in front of them and a paper flew down. "Can you find us?" She read out loud. "Are we in the mountains? Or in the valleys? In the clouds, perhaps? How about trying the jungle? Or maybe we're right in front of you? Well hurry up you bums and find us. Maybe you should split up in groups of two. Oh, how we love a good game of hide and seek." She continued. "That's all there is." Hotaru finished with a sigh.  
  
"So who's going with who?" Hotaru asked looking up. She hit her forehead with her hand seeing that Shadow Matt and Isis were nowhere in site and Kive sitting on the ground, not paying attention to anything. "Gee, I wonder who I'm paired up with." Hotaru said sarcastically.  
  
"Kive?" No response.  
  
"Kive?!" She said, louder.  
  
"Kive!" She called more forcefully.  
  
"Huh, what?" Kive asked, snapping out of his trance.  
  
"What was that?" Hotaru asked blinking.  
  
"I was just out of it for a second." He shrugged. "Oh, its you. Where are the others?" Kive asked, looking away. She looked around and saw a black paper right besides Kive. She picked it and gave Kive the hide and seek paper.  
  
" Yes, it me. Read this to yourself and tell me when you're done." Hotaru said. Kive looked over it quickly and frowned.  
  
"This is stupid." He groaned. She shrugged.  
  
"I'm going to read the other note now." She said, looking upon the scribble of white ink upon the crinkled black paper. "Hey Hotaru, Isis and I have decided to search the Desert, the Valleys, The Jungle, and the Mountains. Lets meet back here in two days, okay? See ya then. Sorry about leaving on you." She read. Kive's eyes narrowed to glare at nothing. "They did it on purpose." She sighed.  
  
"Obviously!" Kive retorted.  
  
"I don't get why you're still upset at me." Hotaru said softly.  
  
"You went to him of all people! Shows about how much you care about my feelings." He growled. It pissed him off. Of course she would run to Matt. She had probably liked him way better all along. Why had he been so blind? He felt betrayed. All of his feelings for her slowly began to evaporate.  
  
"It was an accident. I didn't mean to. And you did sort of start it." Hotaru said, not meeting his piercing blue eyes. He must really hate her now. Now he probably thought of her as a backstabber on top of being useless. Not that running to Matt was backstabbing but apparently to him it was a big deal. She hadn't even realized that it was Matt's room until it was too late.  
  
"Tch, whatever. Let's just go." He said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"And where should we go?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"I don't know. That massive volcano over there." He said, motioning to a volcano that seemed ready to blow any second. She shuddered.  
  
"Must we?" She asked timidly.  
  
"I'd rather go alone anyways." He shrugged, beginning to walk off.  
  
"Kive wait! I'll go!" She cried, dashing after him. "We were hinted to search in groups of two. We can't separate now." She protested. He shrugged.  
  
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"That was smooth Shadow Matt!" Isis giggled from the shadows.  
  
"I just figured that they needed some alone time to restore their friendship, that's all." He shrugged. "So let's hurry to the desert." He encouraged. She nodded and they went on in the shadows. After a while SM suddenly stopped. "We're in sand. We should pop up, it takes a lot longer to shadow travel in sand." He said.  
  
"Why?" She asked.  
  
"Because you have to travel from every single grain of sand's shadow and it gets really tedious, we'd be faster on our feet." He pointed out. She nodded again as SM popped them out of the shadow. He let out a sigh.  
  
"I've officially decided that I do not like deserts." SM said as the sand constantly whipped into his face.  
  
'Get on.' Isis's voice boomed I his mind. He blinked, only to find sand in his eyes. He rubbed it out furiously and the stared at Isis's cat form. The spikes were retracted and she wanted him to get on.  
  
"I don't know. It'll feel awkward." SM sighed.  
  
'I'm a giant cat who's offering you a ride in a windy scorching desert. Trust me, I'm a lot faster than walking.' She pointed out. SM nodded and climbed on.  
  
"It feels awkward." SM pouted. Isis rolled her eyes and began to dash off at lightning speed. Then she realized that her load felt lighter. She screeched to a stop and turned around. There, a whole way back was SM, lying on the ground. She sighed and ran back.  
  
'What was that about?' Isis asked.  
  
"Too fast, too fast, too fast..." SM continued to say.  
  
'Oh all right, I get it. I'm sorry SM.' She laughed. He sat up and shook sand from his hair.  
  
"Not so fast next time okay." He sighed. She nodded. He sighed and climbed on again and they were off, not as fast. SM looked around. "Would anything really hide in the desert?" SM sighed.  
  
'I like the desert. The heat doesn't bug me at all.' She informed.  
  
"I see." He said half paying attention as he looked around for a horse. "It wouldn't be IN the sand, right, because then we'd never find it." He sighed. "This desert is so big!"  
  
'I know.' She sighed in his head. 'Hey! I hear something.' She said screeching to a stop, nearly sending SM flying off.  
  
"Hey, um, could you please not do that again." SM asked, taking a deep breath.  
  
'What, what's happening? What?' She said. All of a sudden she began to glow and in a poof she was a human again. SM's eyes widened as he fell and landed with a crash on top of Isis. "SM, could you please get off." She begged. SM quickly got off.  
  
"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" He apologized. "What happened?"  
  
"I'm...not sure." Isis said, worriedly. All of a sudden they heard a sound below them and they were falling again and they smashed into rock hard floor. "Hey look! I landed on my feet." Isis laughed.  
  
"Good for you." SM said, flat against the floor. He pushed himself up to his feet. "Where are we?" He asked. They looked around and saw nothing. Nothing at all. All of a sudden Isis shrieked.  
  
"What?" SM asked.  
  
"Giant, red pair of eyes." Isis said, pointing to a black pile of rocks in the corner with glowing red eyes. "What is that." Isis asked, scooting away. All of a sudden the 'rocks' stood up and revealed that it was not rocks but a scorpion that had been lying down, asleep, until now.  
  
"Ideal location. A gigantic scorpion pit. Are you as thrilled as I am?" He asked, backing away. Isis shot lightning at the beast but to no avail. The bolts simply bounced off it slick shell. SM drew his sword and began to take battles with the massive snapping claws, but he was at the disadvantage as he tried to battle two claws at once, which kept him very busy.  
  
"Shadow Matt! Watch out!" She shouted. SM blinked, distracted as the tail shot down at him. He noticed just in time and managed to dive out of the way as the tail struck just where he had been. Then it was back to fighting the claws again. Isis didn't know what to do. There was nothing to do. Then she had an idea and began to climb up the wall slowly but steadily. Meanwhile, SM did all he could, struggling against the massive steel-hard claws. They seemed to snap at him in fast fluid motions, leaving barely enough time for him to even breath. All of a sudden one of the pincers clamped down on his sword. SM tried to let go and run but it was too late and the other claw slammed down on him, pinning him to the ground. He tried to go into the shadow and realized that he was in a part where the sun shined into the whole. He gulped and braced himself as the claws began to close on him. He was going to get sliced in half and that would be the end. He squeezed his eyes shut and awaited the pain, but the pain never came. He heard a roar of pain and the pressure or his sides was gone. He opened his eyes to see the beast roaring up at the side of the wall, three large cactus spines stuck in its eyes. (A/N: Gah!!! That just reminded me of Haku and his needles in Naruto...not cool! But Naruto is a good anime! Thanks for showing it to me Lynn!)  
  
"That's what you get!" Isis shouted down, throwing down more spines. SM smiled. Isis had saved him. SM snuck up behind it and shouted, "HEY!!!!" The scorpion whipped around in surprise only to have a blade stuck right between its eyes. SM pulled out the sword in disgust.  
  
"I hate doing that." He sighed. "Thank you SOOOO much Isis. Without you..." He shuddered thinking about it.  
  
"No problem." She smiled. SM heard a clunk in front of him. He blinked. "What is it SM?" Isis called down.  
  
"I found something." He said, picking up a weird orange stone. He slunk into the shadows and appeared next to Isis. "What do you suppose this is?" He asked, showing her.  
  
"I don't know. Let's keep it and head out. I don't think anything's hiding here, and if one of those Pegasus are here then we can always go back after checking the other locations." She said. SM nodded. He didn't like deserts. They walked off.  
  
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Hotaru frowned. Why was Kive so mad at her? Matt had been wrong. He wasn't hating himself for yelling at her; in fact he didn't appear to care at all. She felt tears begin to well up. Was she losing a friend or had he not really ever been her friend? No, he had been her friend. She couldn't doubt Kive. He had gotten his leg ripped up trying to find her and continued on until he finally did. Maybe Matt was right about him being very stressed. She followed him silently. She didn't want to make things even worse. Finally they reached the volcano.  
  
"It's really hot here." Kive said. All of a sudden a bunch of fireballs flew at them. Hotaru slammed her glaive down causing a silence wall to appear so that the fire just bounced off it. She kept it on. They walked on for a while, nothing else unexpected happening.  
  
"Put it down." Kive said. Hotaru nodded and made it disappear. "Oh shoot!" Kive shouted as something dived for his face. It scratched and scratched him as he attempted to pull the thing away. Finally he pulled it away and it flew off.  
  
"Oh my gosh Kive, are you okay." She asked.  
  
"Ow..." Hotaru walked over and moved his hands from his face and saw a bunch of talon scratches all over his face and from the looks of it they were burn marks too. She bit her lip. They were nasty wounds. She set to healing his face.  
  
"Are you okay?" She asked, finishing up. It hadn't taken up very much energy.  
  
"What the hell attacked me?" Kive asked, eyes darting around.  
  
"It was a hawk-sized bird with orange and gold feathers and it burned with fire. It dove into the lava." She said, looking around the lava pits that lined the path inside the volcano.  
  
"I think it's gone." Kive said at last. "Umm, thanks Hotaru, I guess." He said, looking away. Hotaru smiled. Things would hopefully get better between them from here. They continued on, watching the lava carefully. She sighed. It was extremely hot in the place. After all, it was a volcano. Suddenly a squawk sounded behind them.  
  
"Oh no you don't! Not again!" Kive said whipping around. Hotaru turned around as well and their eyes widened. Not only were there one bird but what seemed like a whole army of them. Hotaru raised her glaive for a fight and Kive whipped out his sword thinking it was about time it got a little use. Hotaru slammed the glaive down and blinked. Nothing had happened.  
  
"Kive, my silence wall isn't working anymore." She whispered.  
  
"Then we just have to swat them off one by one." He whispered. Now was not the time to be upset with each other. They were in a bad situation and they had to get out of it. All of a sudden the birds came diving at them. They hacked at the birds, but every time one got sliced it just popped back together, which was freaky in its own way.  
  
"We can't win." Hotaru said while trying in vain to kill at least one bird but they just wouldn't die! Kive knew she was right. All of a sudden the birds surrounded them. Hotaru and Kive stopped, confused and pressed their backs together. All of a sudden the birds glowed red. Hotaru began trying to make silence walls but her attempts were futile. Suddenly a red beam shot from all of them, hitting the two of them in an explosion of fire. Hotaru and Kive fell to the ground, every inch of their skin feeling like it was being pressed by an iron. They felt birds pick them up by their collars, but they were too in pain to do anything. Hotaru and Kive stared in the direction they were going in and saw gigantic bird with its mouth open, pointing up as if wanting to be fed something. "I give you once guess what the main course is." Hotaru said weakly.  
  
"Hotaru, just in case we don't make it, I apologize for being a big fat jerk. You're not useless, I just blurted out something. I can't believe I said it and I'm sorry. I still think you shouldn't have told Matt, though." He blurted out.  
  
"Thanks, but it's true. I haven't done anything. And I'm sorry for everything I said to you. I have no business judging you when I barely know you. And about Matt, I couldn't just lie to him and he asked me. To tell truth I'm glad I talked to him. I'm sorry if that makes you upset. If it's any consolation he in a way stood up for you." She sighed.  
  
"Stood up for me? Don't tease me Hotaru." Kive sighed.  
  
"I'm not kidding you. You two should try to get along. I think you'd both find that the other is different than they thought." She pointed out.  
  
"We're going to die, aren't we?" Kive asked.  
  
"No. Don't say that!" Hotaru scolded.  
  
"But it's the truth. Before I die, I'm sorry for everything I've done wrong in my life. I'm sorry that I was a jerk to Hotaru, I was totally wrong for doing that. I'm sorry for trying to push my stepsister off the roof, even if she is annoying. I'm sorry that I dropped a bunch of burs on the horses' fur in the stables back home, even if they were evil. I'm sorry for yelling at my parents and running away, even though it was for a VERY good reason. And I'm sorry that I never ate my broccoli and just shoved it under the table, and when the maids asked me why all the broccoli was under my chair I said that the dog loved broccoli so it would steal it from the kitchen and that under my chair was its favorite place to eat; wait, I'm not sorry for that. I hate broccoli. And I'm sorry for..." Kive continued on but the rest Hotaru didn't hear. She was staring at the giant beak poking out of the lava ready to eat them. All of a sudden they were right above the bird and suddenly they were dropping. Kive continued his list on super high speed. BAM! She slammed her glaive horizontally in the bird's beak and dangled from it by one hand. Her eyes widened as Kive zipped passed her. She whipped out her hand and grasped his wrist and let out a relieved sigh. The glaive slid a little more with Kive's weight and she clenched her hand even tighter. Kive was pretty heavy.  
  
"And I'm sorry...hey! I'm not dead!" He said, opening his eyes. "I take it back. I'm not sorry for half the things I said." He said, trying to sound calm. He stared up and gulped. "Um, Hotaru, please don't let go, I'm really sorry." He said, panicky as the bird swayed back and forth from the pain of a blade being lodged in its mouth.  
  
"Kive, I'm not going to let go on purpose. I'm going to try to swing you up. You have to grab the glaive, okay?" She said.  
  
"Umm yeah. I can do that. I mean, I don't think Matt could, but you know I can." He said nodding nervously. Hotaru sighed.  
  
"Ready? Set? Now!" She said swinging him up high enough and he grabbed the glaive.  
  
"Now what?" Kive asked.  
  
"This?" She said, swinging herself up in the air using the glaive and landing on her feet on top of it. She struggled to keep balance as the bird struggled madly.  
  
"I really don't think my body is capable of doing that!" Kive said. Hotaru sighed, he was right.  
  
"Stop it already or I'll keep the blade lodged in you mouth forever!" Hotaru shouted to the bird.  
  
'It hurts! You hurt me!' The bird screamed in her mind.  
  
"Obviously! You deserve it for trying to eat us!" Hotaru shouted.  
  
'It hurts!! You darn humans and your weapons!' It cursed at her in her head.  
  
"Gee, doesn't anything in this world talk using their vocal chords? Look, I can't take the glaive out our else I'll fall into your throat." Hotaru protested.  
  
'Then get eaten!' The bird squawked.  
  
"No thank you!" Hotaru said.  
  
"Hey! What's that stuck in the bird's throat?" Kive asked, squinting.  
  
'You get yucky stone out of my mouth pull out sharp man weapon and I let you not get eaten.' The bird protested.  
  
"Fine!" Hotaru said. "Kive? Can you reach it?" Hotaru asked. Kive shook his head no. "Grab my wrist and whatever you do, don't let go of the glaive." She said sternly. He grabbed her wrist and she slipped off the glaive. Dangling by her wrist she could see the shiny red stone lodged in the side of the bird's throat. She shook her head in disgust and began to try to pry it out, which proved to be difficult with one hand.  
  
"Are you done?" Kive asked after a few minutes.  
  
"No! It's stuck tight!" she called back.  
  
"Hotaru I'm trusting you! Don't' lose this!" Kive said.  
  
"What is it?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"My brother's dagger." He answered. "Grab my foot, I need my hand free." Hotaru nodded and grabbed his foot with her free hand and he let go of her other hand. He pulled out his brother's dagger and held it down. Hotaru grabbed it with her free hand and began to try to pry the stone out with the dagger. To her surprise it came out pretty easily. With a final thrust the stone came free, but as it did the bird let out a pain-filled cry and began to thrash around violently, shaking Hotaru's holding free and she began to fall.  
  
"HOTARUUUU!!!!" Kive shouted. She slammed the dagger into the things throat and prayed that the bird's struggling wouldn't shake it loose. Kive let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"I got it out!! I got it out!! Please stop it!!" Hotaru cried.  
  
'That hurt!' It roared in pain and it began to flap its wings, lifting up out of the volcano and flying into the ground, leaving Hotaru and Kive dangling helplessly within its throat. It landed somewhere and opened its mouth. Hotaru yanked out the dagger and pushed herself up to walk out. Kive crawled out passed the glaive when Hotaru reached him and they both got out.  
  
"Open your mouth wider." Hotaru commanded. The bird forced its beak to open wider. "This might hurt." Hotaru said. She yanked the glaive out with a very forceful pull. The bird reared up its head in pain. Hotaru and Kive backed away from its neck range.  
  
'Dumb humans.' It growled. 'I go back to my home now!' It growled and flew off to the now erupting volcano.  
  
"I wonder...was that bird responsible for that volcano erupting?" Hotaru thought to herself.  
  
"Don't scare me like that! You could have died! Never ever do that to me again!" Kive scolded.  
  
"Do what?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"You almost fell and you were going to leave me forever! Don't do that! Next time something like that happens let me go down to get it, okay?" He said sternly.  
  
"Kive! Don't be like that! We made it didn't we. I know what I'm doing!" Hotaru said.  
  
"You're right, but still. That was the first time I felt like that. Felt that helpless. So about that stone." Kive said.  
  
"I think it goes into that one thing we saw when we got here." Hotaru said.  
  
"You mean that?" Kive said, pointing behind him.  
  
"Yes! Wow! The bird dropped us back where we started." Hotaru said.  
  
"I guess we have to collect the rest of the stone things." Kive sighed. Both their shoulder's sagged. As if collecting crests wasn't already enough...  
  
Little did they know that something was up back at the ranch...  
  
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I didn't want to post this yet. Not much of an ending. I'll try to get the next chapter up so that you can read it without forgetting what just happened. Gomen nasai!!!! I don't even like the whole ending part of this section. I cry. But it's getting too long. It's like 19 pages. That's kind of insane. I'm sorry; it doesn't tie to itself too well without the next part of the chapter. Hey, but at least now I know what to do with the next chapter!!! I'm sorri!! I know this is such a gay place to leave it. Too much character conflict, not enough action, I'm sorry!! And I'm also sorry for SM. I just love being mean to him! ^^ Please review. I'm sorry that this chapter isn't that good...*sighs* Plu, ignore all the errors. I'm not very good at proof reading!!! 


	13. Hope Conclusion

GAH!!!! I'm sho totally sad!! I had to cut off my last chapter because it was getting too long. *tear, tear* Yea, yea, I know I like totally under use her. I'm sorry. I'll try to use her more!! I'll try. Thanks for reviewing!!! But I have this chapter planned out already, so I can't promise too much. Sorri peeps!!! Maybe in this boss battle. How can there BE a boss battle in this kind of place? Well, you'll just have to go and read this chapter now. Like I said, it's pretty much planned out. Wee!!! Playing Dark Cloud ish sho much fun!! Both of them!! But he died!!!! Griffon, how could you!!! But I don't blame griffon. I mean it's really not his fault. I feel really sorry for him too.  
  
SM: Hi!!! I get to type on the computer.  
  
Megumi: And WHERE ELSE would you be able to type?  
  
SM: ...*chooses to ignore that* It's been so long!!!!  
  
Megumi: You're happy.  
  
SM: Yea. I get to talk to other people.  
  
Megumi: Yea...sure. Go eat your donuts or whatever.  
  
SM: OKAY!!!!  
  
Ahem, now that I've got him busy I bring you chapter 12. Yay!!! I actually have the basic idea for this chapter!!! Yes. Not like I wanted to cut it in half or anything, but still. Soo yeah. Here we go. But first...  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, or Digimon. Okay, let's go!! Lucky Chapter 13!!!  
  
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If Darkness Could Befriend Chapter 13: Hope Conclusion  
  
Dark Shadow Matt stared at his master, awaiting orders. They stood atop the stables, staring at the cozy little house at the back of the ranch.  
  
"Are you sure he's here...alone?" The ruler asked suspiciously.  
  
"Well, someone had to open the door for them. I didn't exactly see who, I stayed out here the whole time. All I know is that I saw everyone but him leave for the ruins of hope. They were talking but I couldn't exactly hear what they were saying, Master." Dark SM said, looking away.  
  
"I see. Odd that they would just leave him here." He said.  
  
"What do you want me to do?" Dark SM asked.  
  
"Stay here. You're likely to screw up this mission too. I don't trust you with a mission of this caliber seeing that your last attempt failed quite miserably. What is it with minions these days; they've grown to be quite pitiful. I wonder, should I have kept the clumsy shadow in your stead. After all, you did lose to him. Useless, the whole of you." He taunted.  
  
"You don't know what I'm capable of. You didn't create me." Dark SM said, glaring at nothing in general.  
  
"No, I didn't, but I could easily destroy you." The ruler said dangerously.  
  
"I know. And that is why I reside in remaining as your 'minion.'" Dark SM snapped.  
  
"Are you challenging me?" The ruler asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"No, master. Wouldn't dream of it." Dark SM said, once again refusing to meet his master's eyes. So he had failed. He never understood why it had to be rubbed in so much. And he had been so close to succeeding too. "So, if you're not planning on me doing anything then what do YOU plan on doing? You're not going to send one of your pathetic minions, are you? I mean, I'm way better than any of them."  
  
"Speak for yourself. I've decided that it's too risky to send any of you. Actually, I have one person capable, but I've got them busy right now so for this mission I've decided that if I want something done right I'll have to do it myself. You just stay here and scout. Inform me if the others come back. This should take a relatively quick amount of time." He said, jumping off from the roof of the stables. "And don't fail at scouting otherwise I really will kill you, like my other worthless minion." He growled from the ground.  
  
"Understood." Dark SM called down from atop the stables. "I'll have a hard laugh if you fail yourself, you slave driver." He said softly to himself. The ruler walked slowly to the house, hiding the fact that he had heard what Dark SM had just said.  
  
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"Kive, isn't the water beautiful?" Hotaru asked, feet submerged in the retreating waves.  
  
"I had no idea the ocean looked like this. The sand doesn't look like the sand in the desert. It's so white. It's kind of blinding and a lot softer." He said, staring down at the sand.  
  
"Okay, sure. But umm, I was talking about the water." She said.  
  
"Hmm oh! Sorry." He said looking up. "Whoa!!!! And it's way bigger than I thought it would be. You can't even really see the end of it. It's pretty shiny too. And it's so blue." He said.  
  
"Of course, silly. You act as if you've never seen the ocean before."  
  
"That's because I haven't. I don't live anywhere close to the ocean. There were a bunch of lakes and rivers, but not an ocean. I heard the water's salty." He said.  
  
"It is, so don't try to drink it unless you filter it first." She said. "I wonder what kind of things live in the ocean of your world?"  
  
"I heard they're bad. I heard they're a bunch of sea dragons or serpents or whatever. And something. Sharks or something like that. I have no idea what a shark is but I have a pretty good idea what a sea dragon or sea serpent would look like." He said.  
  
"Oh, well, sharks are like giant fish with teeth. She walked over to a tidal pool, grabbing Kive's arm while she was at it, and dragging him with her. "See that small thing. I think it's a sand shark." She said, pointing at a very small, sand-colored shark.  
  
"I don't know. It doesn't look dangerous. It kind of looks cute." He pointed out.  
  
"Well, it would be a lot scarier if it were bigger, wouldn't it?" She asked. He nodded. They heard a giant roar. Come from somewhere out on the ocean. They turned and see a light blue sea dragon roaring up at nothing. "Kive! I think there's something wrong with it!" She said.  
  
"Nuh uh Hotaru! No way we're going out there to save that thing! Maybe its just hungry." He said. "Just leave it there. It probably won't appreciate help anyways. I don't want to get eaten. Plus there are probably other things in the water ready to eat us!" He pointed out.  
  
"Well if you won't go, then I'll go by myself. Don't worry about me Kive. It's not that far out. I can swim to it." She said plunging into the water.  
  
"Hotaru! ...Whatever." He sighed, watching her swim off towards it. Kive frowned as he noticed some sort of triangular thing protruding out of the water and a shadow underneath it, that was awkwardly circling around the sea dragon. He wondered what it was. He saw Hotaru suddenly stop as she spotted it as well. She just froze and it was obvious she was terribly afraid. Then she began to swim again, glaive in her hand. As she got closer to the creature she dove under the water. Kive stared worriedly at the shadows moving under the water and instantly got worried as red began to visible on top of the water. Then Hotaru emerged from the water and he let out a relieved sigh. Hotaru swam over to the sea dragon and began to talk to it. Comfort it. Then she began to lead it back to the shore. Eventually Hotaru got up to the shore and both her and Kive managed to haul the beast onto the sand, and Kive admitted it didn't look too dangerous. Then Hotaru set to checking it over. She assured Kive that she was fine and the thing that had been swimming was indeed a shark. The shark had in fact gotten some bites out of their ocean friend.  
  
"Kive! It's only a baby sea dragon," she said.  
  
"You're kidding me!" He said in surprise. She shook her head no. "It's so big. I don't think it can be a baby."  
  
"Well it is. I wonder if I could heal if." She said. "Wait, better idea. I hope Matt won't mind. It'll only be a sip." She said, pulling out the bag, which Matt had given to her because of course she needed it more than him. She fingered around the bottom of the bag and got what she wanted. She pulled out the red vial and held it out to the creature and told it to drink. It surprised them both when the dragon apparently understood and took a sip. Hotaru pulled it away and put it back. The sea dragon's wounds were healed. The dragon began to nuzzle her and then Kive.  
  
"Finally! An animal that ACCEPTS me!" Kive said, causing Hotaru to laugh. The sea dragon went back into the water and began to motion to them.  
  
"I think it wants us to get on its back." Hotaru said, dragging Kive into the water and onto the dragon's back.  
  
"I don't understand how you understand it so easily." He said as the sea dragon began to speed up.  
  
"Oh call it a hunch." She said. They were breezing through the ocean and soon Hotaru spotted an island, with a bunch of other sea dragons surrounding it. (A/N: The SHIGURA!!!! Please don't sue me!! I just got the idea from it. I love Pau! ^^) They ended up on the island and Hotaru and Kive hopped off. There, right in front of them, was the water gem. "It was waiting for us." Hotaru said. Kive was staring up at the sky.  
  
"Hotaru, the sun's starting to set. We ought to stay here. I'm sure the sea dragon's wouldn't mind." He said.  
  
"You're right." Hotaru said, picking up the water stone. One step closer to getting all eight.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The Valley was so peaceful from what they could see. Shadow Matt and Isis had found no trouble there. They had simply gone into the middle of the valley and there, set into a rock was a small stone. It was too easy. Isis reached out her hand to touch it, but as soon as her fingers felt the cold gem underneath them a rumbling shook the ground and out from the ground popped a cute little winged white fox- creature. She smiled. It was so cute. SM blinked. What was this about? Isis withdrew her hand and began reaching out to pat the little creature. SM grabbed her arm, causing her to whip around and stare at him awkwardly.  
  
"Oh what is it SM?" She asked, frustrated.  
  
"I don't know if you should touch it, I mean, we really don't know too much about this world and the creatures. What I'm trying to say, is that we don't really know if can do something to us. I mean, sure it's cute, but come on..." He pointed out.  
  
"Oh don't be silly. It won't do anything." She laughed.  
  
"I guess. If you say so." SM sighed. She smiled and stuck her hand in front of the fox. The fox lunged forward, clamping its little teeth on her finger. SM sweatdropped. The fox let go and dropped onto the rock. "Umm, Isis?" He asked. She turned around and stared at him, causing him to back away. Her eyes were dull, the look of someone being controlled. Isis then shifted to her cat form and lunged at him, giving him a run for his life, all the while the little fox hummed a little song, secretly mocking SM for his obvious misfortune.  
  
"How did I know this was going to happen?" He said to himself, jumping out of the way just as Isis landed where he would have been. "Isis! Don't you remember me? You know. Shadow Matt?" He asked desperately. She jumped at him, attempting to crush him again, but he jumped out of the way again. "Guess not. Go figure." Then he spotted the fox creature out of the corner of his eye and began to head towards it. Hearing the song he realized that that was what the fox was using to control Isis. He ran and lunged at it just as Isis landed where he been again. He was about to ram into it when he felt a great deal of electric current pulsate through his entire body, causing him to fall short and slam into the rock. "Forgot about that." He sighed in pain. He pushed himself up and saw the fox grinning at him and, looking farther he saw a gigantic SPIKY lightning cat about to land on him. Simple enough. He slunk down into the shadow of the rock just before Isis's massive paws hit the ground where he had been. The fox sighed and suddenly a flash occurred and it was human. It was a girl with a white fox ears protruding from a head of long white hair put up into a ponytail. She had white boots with white fur trim and fox paw gloves with a bell tied to both gloves and from her back protruded white, feathery wings. She wore a simple light gray shirt with a cute evil fox face on it and a white skirt. She had on a white cape lined with white fox fur and in her hands she clutched a harp, which magically played by itself. She held it in front of her let go, leaving it floating in midair, still keeping Isis in a controlled state. She slunk down into the shadows and chanted a spell, which prevented anyone from leaving. Then she filled the place with light. SM turned around to look at her.  
  
"What? Who? What happened?" He asked, pondering how it was possible for light to exist in the shadows.  
  
"I love magic." She said, green eyes beaming at him. "Don't you think it's a wonderful spell? Normally if you filled a shadow with light it wouldn't be a shadow, forcing anything in the shadow up, above it. But I knew that so I sealed the shadow so that you can't get out. Cool huh! It's so nice to finally meet you!" She said enthusiastically. SM stared at her, horrified.  
  
"You're the fox that was controlling Isis. Oh boy, what a mess I'm in." He said, frowning.  
  
"Aww! Come now Shadow Matt! I've been waiting to meet you. You could at least say hi!" She pouted. SM twitched.  
  
"Umm...hi? My name's Shadow Matt, as you already magically know. Nice to meet you I guess...Uh, how do you know me and why were you trying to kill me?" He asked.  
  
"My name is Kitsu and I'm supposed to kill you cuz my mistress said to. I'm sorry, but it's my job. Otherwise the Master will get angry and he's really mean when he's angry. Oh, but I'm friends with the other Shadow Matt and all he does all day is rant about how he wants to kill you and how unfair the Master is treating him just because he failed, so that's how I found out about you. He says I'm okay because I listen to him but that I'm way to over enthusiastic. Do you think I'm over enthusiastic?" She asked in a fast talk, not even stopping to breath throughout the whole thing.  
  
"Umm, sort of..." He muttered, confused.  
  
"Wow! You really are like SM!!!" She said happily. SM flinched. The girl had serious mental problems.  
  
"I get really confused when you call him that. It's sort of weird cuz we have the same name." He said, "Can you call him Dark SM?" SM asked.  
  
"Okay. He'd probably like it better anyways. Oh YEAH! Do you wanna fight? I can take you!" She challenged.  
  
"Do I have a choice?"  
  
"No, not really. But lets make this all more fun. If you lose I get to bring you back to SM and he can kill you whatever way he want to, and if you win I'll stop controlling your friend and I'll give you the wind gem AND the stone gem. Good deal huh!" She laughed. He frowned. She must really think she was going to win. That made him nervous. If he lost...he didn't care to think about what doom Dark SM might have planned for him.  
  
"What happens if I decline you offer?" SM asked.  
  
"I just kill you." She shrugged.  
  
"Well, I guess I accept then." SM said, unsheathing his sword. She smiled and pulled out her sword. It was very thick and it looked very heavy, but she didn't seem to care. It had white fox fur around the base of the blade and along the think long blade itself was a light pink stripe.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The ruler shadow was cast across the door as he summoned up a quick spell. He then blasted the door with a quick fire burst and stepped through the smoldering entrance half consciously. He stopped in his tracks as he heard a door open and slam against the wall as if some one had pushed it open as hard as they could. His eyes quickly darted to the source to see Matt standing at the top of the stairs, looking very bedraggled. He looked as if he had just gotten up, with the blankets still wrapped around his legs, probably from trying so hard to see what the noise had been. He looked restless, as if sleep had been horrible and he looked tired while nervous at the same time, if that is even possible. And all this while, he bore his sword weakly in his hand.  
  
"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in. Like you'll do any damage to me in that state." He mocked in his dark tone of voice. He shot a weak magic blast to see his reaction. Matt dodged out of the way, allowing it to hit the doorway.  
  
"I knew you were here. I couldn't sleep. I had a feeling..." Matt said. "What do you want?" Matt asked.  
  
"Your life." He said evilly.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kitsu lunged in on Shadow Matt, causing him to block. She pushed the sword down on his, making him realize she was stronger than she looked. A LOT stronger. He jumped back and they began to circle each other all the while she kept humming the song happily, which kept distracting him, causing him to almost get hit a numerous amount of times. He swung his sword again, but she countered it, almost getting him. He dodged it just in time and swung at her with a side cut. She parried and sent her own blade at his face, however he managed to move his head to the side and duck down to slash at her legs, but of course she jumped over it and just his luck kicked him in the face while she was at it. Surprisingly the kick was also stronger than he thought it would be, sending him flying back a few feet. She ran up to SM, who was busy rubbing his face and kicked him down. Then she switched her blade to make a stab and sent it down at him but he lurched himself to the side, causing her blade to miss and go into the ground. SM then kicked his legs up. His feet hit her stomach and he used that to throw her over him in less than a second, making her lose grip of her sword. He shot up and whirled around only to see her pouting and glaring at him sitting on the ground. He frowned, she looked so sad.  
  
"Are you okay?" SM asked. She nodded and held her hand out in front of her as if to summon a spell, but no hint of magic came. SM blinked, having a bad feeling. She moved her hand up and made a weird twisting motion. Then she made a sign, beckoning something to come. SM dropped his sword instantly. His eyes grew wide, realizing what she was probably doing and spun around just to have the sword stab him through the side. His eyes were wide in pain. He knew how big the wound must be from the size of the blade and he could feel the tip of the blade had gone through him completely, and was sticking out of his back. He was going to die and he knew it. And he was going to die soon. He fell to his knees, barely supporting himself with his arms. He coughed up blood and felt the life slipping from him. Kitsu laughed and walked up to him.  
  
"On your knees, Shadow Matt." She demanded, picking up his sword and holding it to his chin. SM shook his head weakly. She rolled her eyes and pushed him to his knees with her foot. Then in a quick motion she wrapped her hands around the blade and yanked it out. SM felt his pain shoot up like a rocket. It felt as if someone had just ripped out that whole portion of his body. His mind wrenched and blocked everything out but the pain. He collapsed on the ground twitching from the pain as his blood flowed freely out. Everything went white and he was unconscious, with barely enough life left to breath. His pulse slowed, his breath stopped. Kitsu rolled her eyes. She pulled out some sort of powder and sprinkled it on him. All of a sudden SM gained consciousness again, instantly clutching his side, blood gushing onto his hand. Then he realized he wasn't dying, but rather coming back to life. Slowly his bleeding lessened and he felt his wound begin to seal up. Then, when he knew he wouldn't die from it the wound stopped healing. It still hurt terribly, but at least he wasn't going to die. He stared up at Kitsu in total confusion.  
  
"How did you..." He asked.  
  
"This powder will heal all things made from dark material, especially shadow replicas like yourself and the other SM, even if you're dead, since you're a shadow this powder can heal you. There are four ways, however, that this powder can't heal you. If you were killed by another shadow, if you killed yourself, if you were stabbed in the heart, and if you've been dead for over three days. If you're dead for over three days then you just turn into a normal shadow. (A/N: Lynn-chan!!! I got that from you! ^^) You won't be Shadow Matt anymore. You'll just be like any normal shadow, probably just like the shadow you were created from. You'll just cease to exist as a human. That's it." She shrugged happily. "And here you were thinking you were dead! Silly you!"  
  
"Why did you help me?" he asked.  
  
"Well, it was unfair. You rightfully won. You could have just killed me if you wanted to when you flipped me over. It was my own fault for underestimating you. And then, you asked me if I was okay. You must be really stupid to ask me THAT! But it was still nice so I sort of felt bad when I stabbed you through with my sword. You know sometimes, I just like killing things, but then I realized I wasn't being a good sport, and I don't like to cheat. Plus, I think that the other shadow matt, I mean dark SM would be angry with me because he would want to kill you himself. And ALSO I needed to use you to experiment if my powder actually worked. So anyways, you rightfully won. You legally beat me so I'll hold up my end of the bargain!" She said handing him the stones. Then she snapped and a harp floated into her arms and stopped playing. "So Shadow Matt. If we do meet again, don't expect me to spare you like I did today. Just because I always seem happy I do know what it is to be serious and next time we fight I'll be serious. I'll fight you and you won't win. Next time there will be no powder to save your hide. And next time I'll show you my true skills, both magical and sword. I'm not just a cute little girl." She said darkly, eyes flashing red for a split second. Then she was smiling normally again. "See you later Shadow Matt! You were cooler than I expected. It was fun playing with you! I'll be heading to the cloud palace. I think your friends will be there later. Hope they're as fun as you! Bye bye!" She said waving and with that Kitsu disappeared, taking all her spells with her, and the shadows were shadows once again. SM stood staring at the spot where she had been and shook his head, not knowing what to think.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I'm not sure we'll be okay if we go in there. We could freeze to death." Hotaru said, standing in front of the frozen tundra. They had left the sea dragon's island with the water stone and a heartfelt goodbye from the little sea dragon Hotaru had helped that morning and now they were on their next station and they were still wondering what to do.  
  
"It's a snow storm. I don't know if we should go in there. I don't know if we CAN go in there." Kive replied. She nodded. Then, rummaging around she pulled out the fire stone.  
  
"Kive? Do you think this will help?" She asked. He nodded.  
  
"It might. It looks like its composed of magic. Let's try to go in and if it doesn't work we can just go right back out and think of something else." He said. She nodded and they both stepped in holding the fire gem. It was warmer but still significantly cold. Hotaru blinked and turned around getting a bad feeling and all she saw was more tundra. Where was the grassy field they had just entered from? She tugged on Kive's sleeve and he turned around as well. "Oh great. Me and my big mouth. We're going to freeze to death!" He shouted.  
  
"Now Kive, let's not be too negative. Try to look on the bright side..." Hotaru said.  
  
"What's the bright side?" He asked.  
  
"You know, I really don't know. It just sounded encouraging." She said. He sighed. "You know, that volcano is starting to look REALLY good now. Let's go try to find a cave or something." She sighed, shivering.  
  
"Right, okay. A cave." Kive said, teeth chattering.  
  
(FIVE HOURS LATER)  
  
"We're going to DIE!!!!" Kive shouted.  
  
"N-Now K-kivve..." She started.  
  
"Hotaru, f-for the last t-time!!!! Th-there IS no br-br-bright s-side." He said. He swore that the fire stone had lost its total effect. It was freezing!  
  
"Look Kive! A cave!" She said excitedly, forgetting how cold she was. They stared each other and then began running to it. Finally they made to the cave and sat down.  
  
"I feel warmer already." Kive said.  
  
"You know, I wonder what lives here. It's a really big cave, and its sort of warm in here, like somethings in here." She pointed out. "Oh well, let's see what Shina packed in here. She practically packed her whole house! There's gotta be something here that we can burn." She said, digging around. "Hold on. I'm going to go in." She said and was gone. Kive reached in his own bag and took out the dagger and began sharpening it for lack of anything better to do.  
  
(ONE HOUR LATER)  
  
Kive was beginning to wonder if she had gotten lost in her bag. The dagger and his sword were sharp and shiny again and she hadn't come out yet. He began to inspect his sword again, just incase when from inside the cave came a roar. Kive stared at the inside of the cave, instantly very aware of every sound. Soon he could here the soft clicks of claws hitting the ground. He squinted at the dark abyss of the rest of the cave only to see a pair of red eyes glaring at him. He took a step back hearing the whatever-it-was let out a giant roar. All of a sudden a blast of ice was coming at him. He hoped out away quickly, only getting the tips of his boots frozen. The rest of the creature emerged, revealing some kind of gigantic white wolf creature with tiger stripes, massive three dragon tail and dragon wings. It fired an ice beam at him again and he back flipped out of the way. Kive frowned as it expanded its massive black dragon wings to their full span. Then it flapped them forward, sending a whole lot of icicles flying at him. "Crap..." He muttered, attempting to dodge them all, but he still got grazed by about three of them. The wolf thing continued doing that, and it was all Kive could do to barely dodge them all. Then, all of a sudden, Kive couldn't move his feet. He stared down at his feet and realized that the ice had frozen his feet to the ground and was crawling up his legs. He stared in horror, trying to move his feet as another group of icicles flew with his name on them. He moved his arms in the way trying to shield himself as best he could and squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating the pain. But it didn't come and he heard a roar of pain and a loud crash on the ground. Kive opened his eyes and saw a purple barrier around him and Hotaru standing in front of the wolf creature.  
  
"Sorry about that. All the junk in that bag fell on me and it took me a while to get out. But what would you have done without me, Kive? For shame, Kive, calling me useless." She teased, putting down the silence wall. He let out a sigh of relief and put his arms down.  
  
"Hotaru! Watch it!" He shouted, pulling out his dagger and throwing it. The dagger flew a hair away from Hotaru's shoulder and lodged itself in the wolf thing. (A/N: Poor wolf thing! *tear tear*) It let out a roar of pain and collapsed again, preventing it from flapping its wings and hitting Hotaru with a load of icicles. "What were you saying?" He asked cockily. She sighed. Kive blinked. "Whoa! What happened to it?" Kive asked. Hotaru turned around to see a cute little wolf thing barely standing with Kive's dagger in its mouth. It whipped back it head and then shot it forward again, releasing the dagger again to fly past Hotaru and at Kive. Kive stepped to the side, grabbed the dagger by the hilt, stopping it in mid-flight and sheathed it, all in one swift movement. The little wolf creature seemed to roll its eyes at Kive showing off. Then suddenly it turned human. It turned out to be a boy with wolf ears, short black hair, and blue eyes, and in that way he slightly resembled Kive. From his neck hung a wolf's tooth. He had on a gray jacket with white fur trim over a black shirt with a cute evil wolf on it and baggy gray pants. He had on wolf paw gloves and gray boots lined with white wolf fur and out of his back protruded two black dragon wings which seemed to hang very limp, just like his bushy white tail. (A/N: Sounds sort of like a certain fox girl we met a little while ago.) He was bleeding in the places Hotaru had cut him.  
  
"Well what? Why are you staring at me, losers? Stop staring at me!! Geez, I would have won if you hadn't popped out of nowhere!" He shouted at Hotaru. His eyes stayed on her, and he blinked, eyes softening.  
  
"Umm, why are you staring at me now?" She asked.  
  
"Stop staring at her, creep." Kive demanded. He snapped out of it.  
  
"I wasn't staring." He defended himself blushing. "What do you guys want anyways." He asked, changing the subject, looking away nervously. Kive's eyes narrowed in a fiery glare.  
  
"We want the ice stone." Hotaru said. "And we want to know how to get to the clouds."  
  
"Sure whatever." He said tossing the ice stone at her. "But about the cloud palace. That I can't do. You know since you just sliced me up I don't have enough energy and whatever to change into my second beast form, therefore, I can't use my dragon wings." He said motioning to his back. Hotaru opened her mouth to say something but Kive silenced her by interrupting.  
  
"Hotaru, don't help him. He's a weasel! You listen here!" Kive said, picking the wolf boy by the collar of his shirt. "We beat you so we say the circumstance and you fulfill it like a good little boy." Kive said.  
  
"I can't you jerk!" He shouted.  
  
"Kive, leave him be. I'll just heal him." Hotaru said. Kive set him down.  
  
"But Hotaru..." Kive protested. She silenced him by shaking her head at him.  
  
"At least one of you has some sense." He said with a smirk.  
  
"You better not try anything." Kive growled.  
  
"Don't worry! I won't..." He said. "...yet." He added softly. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Uma bursted out of her bedroom. "Matt? What's going on out here?" She called out.  
  
"Nothing. I can handle it. Go back in." Matt said sternly. Uma frowned and walked over to stand next to Matt. There she glimpsed the stranger. "I see." She said gravely. "Matt. You need rest. I can take care of this intruder. It's my job to protect this ranch and you." She said.  
  
"No, I can't let you...." He never got to finish as Uma shoved him into his room and slammed the door shut, using some spell to lock it from the outside. Constant banging was heard from inside the room as Matt pounded on the door.  
  
"So...what do you want? I have no sympathy for strangers who burn up my doors." She growled.  
  
"I came here to kill the boy, but if your foolish enough to think you can take me, then go ahead and try. I'll just have to destroy you first." He said, with a shrug.  
  
"We'll see about that." She said firing a ball of white magic at him. He easily countered it with a simple black magic attack. She frowned.  
  
"It seems I beat you when it comes to magic skills. Care to try me with a blade?" He asked. It was almost as if he was just playing around. He could kill her now if he pleased, but why no just beat her first. Not like his time was limited.  
  
"Fine, I shall." She said, drawing a sword from her side and lunging at him. He blocked and kicked her away. She came at him again in a fury of quick blows, but he blocked them all half- heartedly. Once again he kicked her away. She growled and began to circle him. She came in quickly for a slash, but he dodged and gave his own play swing at her, all this time barely concentrating, as if it were all boring to him. She dodged it just in time. "Quit playing with me!" she shouted.  
  
"Is that really what you want?" He asked forebodingly. She glared at him.  
  
"Try me, you oaf." She growled.  
  
"Suit yourself." He said. He swung at her right and she blocked only to have it coming from her left, no wait her front, above her, she barely knew where to block next, all the blows barely missing her. She didn't like this. She didn't like this at all. All of a sudden the blade stabbed at her. She shrieked and parried as best she could but only managed to divert the blade a little and it still caught her pretty bad along the side. She winced as all of a sudden he came at her in a constant flurry of swings, faster than she could imagine. It was quite miraculous that she kept the sword from hitting her somewhere fatal, though by now she had a numerous amount of wounds, whereas, never getting the chance to go on offense, she had given him none. Again the sword was being stabbed at her, this time at her heart. She swiftly dodged to her side but was still caught along the collarbone. Another wound to add to the list. The blade flew at her almost instantly after, giving her barely enough time to block. He swirled the sword around hers causing her to drop it in surprise. She gulped in fear, but instead of being hit by the sword she felt black magic course through her and slam her into the wall behind her. She laid against the wall, the only thing that was keeping her upright as she cringed in pain, her every wound hurting ten times more than it had as she had time to feel every single one of them. The black magic had taken its toll, leaving her drained and ready to collapse.  
  
"What a joke. I wasn't even trying." He shrugged, brushing some stray bangs out of his eyes. She stared weakly at him and saw he hadn't even broken a sweat. He sheathed his sword and began to walk swiftly towards her, scooping up her blade as he went by it. As he reached her he slammed his fist hard against the wall millimeters away from her head. She flinched away from it, shutting her eyes tight for a brief moment, thinking he was going to hit her. She opened them again to see bloodthirsty red eyes smiling at her in a dangerous way. She flinched, seeing the smirk of death on his handsome face as he towered above him. He lifted the tip of the blade to tough her chin, lifting up her face to look up at his. She stared up at him with frightened green eyes, causing him to frown with familiarity.  
  
"What's your name, girl?" He asked, still holding the blade against her chin.  
  
"Uma." She squeaked, tears running down her face. His eyes widened a little as he moved the sword away. He felt a sudden jolt inside of him.  
  
"Say that again." He demanded.  
  
"U-Uma." She said softly. He dropped the sword and stood there, as if not knowing what to do. They just stood there for what seemed like an eternity of silence. Finally he wrapped his arms around her and murmured, "I'm so sorry." She blinked, totally and utterly confused at this sudden change of attitude from what she believed was a total stranger. With a glare she pushed him away.  
  
"Who do you think you are? If you're going to kill me then do it already. I'm tired of you toying with me." She winced. His touch had caused her wounds to hurt more. She was just ready for it to end. He looked away, embarrassed. Once again there was an uncomfortable silence. Finally he stared back at her for a brief moment with a softened look on his face before returning his stare at the ground.  
  
"It's been...a long time...seven years, I think. Do you...not remember me?" He asked expressionlessly.  
  
"No! No, I don't! Stop being so cryptic. Maybe if you told me who you were it would help." She said, irritated. What was with this guy? Slowly his blood red eyes lifted themselves to lock with hers.  
  
"I'm your curse." He said, darkly.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hotaru and Kive rode on the winged wolf's back, trying to ignore that they were being pelted in the face by the snow the wind blew at them. Hotaru had healed him and now he was holding up his end of the bargain. To get them to the Cloud palace. Finally they flew through the clouds and emerged in front of a white palace.  
  
"Happy?" The boy said, turning back to his human form after they jumped off. "What? I didn't know she was here." He frowned, confused.  
  
"Who?" Hotaru asked. He shook his head to tell her not to ask. "Wow. This place is pretty solid for clouds." She pointed out.  
  
"Enough. Let's just go in already. I wanna get out of this weird world." Kive whined. Hotaru nodded and they walked up the many stairs and into the palace. And there, in the opening corridor stood Kitsu who smiled mischievously at them until she saw their wolf companion.  
  
"Oka? What are you doing here? I thought you were busy." Kitsu said.  
  
"I was but then my mistress sent me here to deal with them. I thought you were busy too." Oka said.  
  
"No." She shook her head. "My mistress sent me here to deal with them too. I already met the other two. That Shadow Matt guy is pretty good, like the Shadow Matt we know!" She said happily.  
  
"Really. Shadow Matt said he was really weak. Hey, Hotaru, this is my sister, Kitsu and I'm Oka. Kitsu, this is Hotaru and the weird guy here is Kive." He said.  
  
"Hey! You work for the ruler! I knew you were no good." Kive shouted. Oka rolled his eyes.  
  
"Oka, bug off. I want this battle. You always have all the fun. You probably battled them already." She pouted.  
  
"Whoever said I wanted to battle them again. Take them. They're all yours." He shrugged.  
  
"Yay!! But I want it to be fair so someone has to sit out!" She said excitedly. "Okay, I choose you Hotaru! You get to sit out. I wanna fight Kive." She said cheerfully.  
  
"Do I have to?" Kive asked, stepping forward.  
  
"Yes!" She said happily. She used a spell and all of a sudden a clear barrier went down between Kive and her and Hotaru and Oka. "Now Oka and Hotaru can't interfere. It's just you and me and whoever wins wins!" She said happily.  
  
"I feel sorry for Kive. She may be younger than me, but she's a lot stronger than me when she tries. If Kive's lucky, she won't. She never did like trying." He said.  
  
"I hope he'll be okay." Hotaru sighed placing her hand on the barrier.  
  
Kive pulled out his sword grumbling about how he had just sharpened and polished it and she pulled out her massive sword causing his jaw to drop. "Can you even lift that?" He asked. She nodded with a smile, lifting it and balancing it by the hilt on her finger. "Gee, I didn't say show me." She puffed out her lip and pouted then hurled it at him. It stopped right in front of his nose and then she called it back like a yoyo into her hand. "Show off." Kive muttered. "Let's fight." He said. "Okay!" She said holding her sword at ready. Then, she charged at him and their swords met and she repeatedly swung at him with large swings, forcing him into defense. She swung at him from the side and he ducked and rolled to her side, getting himself farther away from the barrier. He faked a swing at her making her automatically try to block it, but then averted the swing and came at her from the other side. She blocked it just in time, but being at the disadvantage was forced to jump back. She glared and jumped in at him with a low cut but he blocked and swung at her from the side and would have gotten her, had she not managed to lean back, out of its way. He made a stab at her but she parried and tried to send her blade at him, only to have her blade countered once again. Kive jumped back and they circled. She lunged at him unexpectedly and he barely dodged, getting raked along his side. He flinched but while she was still moving forward hit her on the collar bone with his sword. She winced and stopped herself, clutching her shoulder and backing up. She glared at him and charged him again. He held his sword out. She skidded to a stop before impaling herself on his blade, giving him enough time to hit the bottom of her hand with the flat side of his blade, causing her to drop it in surprise. As it hit the ground Kive kicked it, sending it sliding across the ground, out of her reach. He flipped over her causing her to turn around and face her. He slammed his foot forward kicking her into the barrier and walked up to her. He held his blade to her neck.  
  
"The problem with big swords like yours is that you can always see where the persons going to try to strike." He said calmly. She glared at him and tried to look over his shoulder while moving her hand. His eyes narrowed and he grabbed her arm and held it against the wall. "Oh no you don't. I saw how you controlled your sword back there. You don't think I'm going to let you skewer me do you?" He growled. "Now say I win, take down the barrier, and give me the stone...please." He added, remembering his manners for once in his life.  
  
"Okay, okay, you win! Just get your blade away from my neck." She shouted. He sheathed his sword and she took down the barrier.  
  
"Kitsu! Are you okay? Stupid Kive." Oka growled, glaring at Kive.  
  
"I'm okay. Kive's mean!!!" She shouted. "Shadow Matt asked if I was okay, but no, Kive's not decent enough to do that!" She shouted.  
  
"That loser really asked if you were okay?" Kive asked.  
  
"Kive! Stop dissing SM. But wow. I've never seen you fight like that. You weren't that good when you sword fought with Matt." She accused.  
  
"Like I said. The bad thing about big swords is that you can see where they're coming from." He shrugged. "Now give me the stone."  
  
"Fine, here's the Lightning stone." She pouted. "I hope I never see you again." She shouted. "And if I do I'm going to really try my hardest and you'll be sorry. Let's go, Oka." She shouted and disappeared, taking her sword with her.  
  
"Hey, see you later, Hotaru." He said, and then was gone.  
  
"Geez. What freaks." Kive muttered.  
  
"I don't know. Oka was pretty nice." She said, causing Kive to roll his eyes.  
  
"Well, whatever. Let's get back.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Shadow Matt and Isis sat by the weird alter thing. They had came back from the jungle, where they had to pass through a giant maze, but other than that it was pretty simple and they didn't have to battle anyone. The stone had just been there, waiting for them. After that they just had to find their way out again so then after that they just came back to where they were supposed to meet Hotaru and Kive. They had already put their stones in and had been waiting for hours now. It had served them right, though, for being so early. Finally they saw Hotaru and Kive walking towards them, sopping wet.  
  
"Oh, you guys are already here? We're sorry. We would have been here earlier, but we couldn't figure out how to get down from the cloud palace. Luck of the draw, we just fell through the clouds and luckily landed in the ocean next to a sea dragon island and the sea dragons were kind enough to take us back to the beach. Shadow Matt? What happened to you?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"I got in a fight with a fox. Didn't you meet her too? She said she was going to the cloud palace to fight you." Shadow Matt answered.  
  
"She was too easy. What a crybaby." He rolled his eyes. "And her brother was as much of a nut job."  
  
"I don't know. He was nice." She muttered.  
  
"Hurry up and put the stones in, please. I really don't like this place much anymore Hotaru." Kive said.  
  
"Oh okay." She said putting them in really fast. A large beam of light rose from the center of the alter and they all stepped through. It led them to a room where the horses were, but something was wrong. The horses were all panicking. As if something had happened.  
  
"What is it? What's wrong?" Isis asked.  
  
"How would you understand?" Kive asked.  
  
"I'm an animal too. Remember? Wait they're saying something." She listened. "Something about Kiyon and Tali." She said worriedly. "Tell me! What's wrong?" She asked. She shook her head. "It's no use. They won't say anything else besides that they're in trouble. "Come on. Take us to them." Isis demanded. The horses flew around in a circle, forming a portal and flew through. The group exchanged glances of worry and stepped through.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Ka-kazeru? Curse? But- But how? You're lying to me!" She shouted.  
  
"Why would I lie? It is I, Kazeru, Ruler of Esirnus." He said narrowing his eyes at nothing in particular.  
  
"The RULER of Esirnus? Stop it! Just stop it! Stop playing around with me. I don't know how you figured this out, or what your motive is, but stop messing with me! Curse would never have become a monster like you." She spat back at him.  
  
"I know I broke my promise. I know I promised I would never hurt you. I'm sorry. It was so long ago...and everything's so different now. You wouldn't understand."  
  
"Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!!! The Curse I knew never would have attacked an innocent boy who had no one to help him." She growled, holding her hands over her ears.  
  
"That 'innocent boy' chose his own path. He knew whom he was up against. It is his own fault for trying to interfere with my destiny." He answered coldly.  
  
"Sure. Whatever you say 'your majesty.'" She said with a mock bow. "Do you think I don't know what's been happening in the world? Do you think I don't hear of the countless death and the terror and poverty that have been caused by you? My best friend never would have took part in such injustice, much less be the cause of all it." She said, emerald eyes flaring with rage.  
  
"Your best friend was a twelve year old CHILD. People can and do change." He growled.  
  
"No! He was better than you by infinity times." She shouted.  
  
"Are you DAFT? I am him and I missed you. I care about you! I always will!" He shouted, in pain from her total rejection. She had her mouth open to disagree more but stopped completely. He mentally slapped himself. He felt like he could slam his head into a wall about five..........thousand times.  
  
"What?" She asked, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.  
  
"I...did miss you and I do care about you." He said, embarrassed. Both of them once again stood there in silence as memories flooded into the both of them.  
  
**Flash Back**  
  
Uma exited the ranch for a walk in the fresh morning air, before the sun got to high. She strolled out, enjoying the fact that she had finished her duties to the horses. All of a sudden, amidst the road she distinguished a large black heap. As she approached slowly, with much curiosity she saw that the heap was a human. She began to sprint to it in worry. As she came to it she saw that it was a boy about her age. He was unconscious and barely breathing. She gasped. He had deep, clean gashes all over him and he was bleeding terribly. She grabbed as much of him as she could and dragged him back to the ranch. Somehow or other she had eventually managed to get him up in a bed and she spent the rest of the night watching him, using the only few white magic spells she knew to heal him, which was what kept him alive. In the morning she woke up and found that she had fallen asleep trying to take care of him. She got up to get fresh bandages for his wounds but before she could he suddenly bursted up from his bed.  
  
"Where am I? Where is he? He's going to kill me! I don't want to die!" He shouted, causing Uma to fall over in her chair.  
  
"C-Calm down or you'll kill yourself." She fussed, making him lie back down.  
  
"But I don't understand. I can't seem to remember." He said softly, rubbing his head.  
  
"Can't you see that your weak with blood loss and magic fatigue? You're going to get worse." She scolded.  
  
"Wait, magic. He was killing me. He was hacking me to pieces. Then...then I felt...I felt...magic. And I...I can't remember anymore. Wait? Who the hell are you and how did you get here?" He asked, suddenly aware of her existence.  
  
"I've been here the whole time, and I just got to witness that the loss of blood really is getting to you." She sighed. "Now lay down and I'll get some new bandages."  
  
"What? I don't need your help. I can help myself!" He said.  
  
"In case you haven't noticed, I found you out in the road and DRAGGED you to my house. And you can't help yourself! Not in the condition you're in!" She shouted.  
  
"Oh man, I suddenly feel so tired." He said, lying back down.  
  
"See what I mean! You just listen to me and I'll help you!" She said.  
  
"Whatever." He rolled his eyes. "I'm sleepy now." He said, closing his eyes.  
  
"Wait!" She shouted.  
  
"Oh what is it now! Can't you see a guys trying get some decent sleep here?" He grumbled.  
  
"Yeah, in my house." She muttered softly. "Anyways, what's your name anyways?" She asked.  
  
"None of your business. Not like I'm going to be here long, anyways. Plus, I don't hear you giving me your name." He growled.  
  
"HELLO!!!! I don't know if I've met anyone so rude, selfish, and stubborn in my whole entire life!" She shouted.  
  
"Which is how long?" he quipped.  
  
"You know what? This is getting really old really fast. I want some courtesy now, otherwise, I'd be MORE than willing to just toss you off this ranch!"  
  
"Since you're so desperate, my name's Kazeru. Don't forget it. I don't plan on telling you again." He said indifferently.  
  
"Wow. That sort of sounds like Curse." Uma said absentmindedly.  
  
"Wha..." He said, a look of confusion written on his face. "Ummm, you do realize that Ka-ze-ru sounds nothing like curse, right?" He said, unbelieving that she could be so illogical. "It doesn't even have an S in it." He pointed out.  
  
"Well if you rearranged the letters. It would be K-U-R-Z-E." She pointed out. His eye began to twitch.  
  
"That's not curse, that's kurz which I have no idea what it is. And what, may I ask, happened to the A?" He asked.  
  
"Fine. You're A curse then." She said. He slapped the front of his head with his hand.  
  
"It would still be a kurze which sounds like ACRES not curse. It sounds nothing like curse, stupid girl. Plus my original name is nowhere close. And I don't want to be called CURSE anyways!" He shouted.  
  
"Well who cares. That's what you are to me so that's your name here." She said as her final decision. His eye twitched.  
  
"What a...pleasant...nickname." He managed to say sarcastically.  
  
"My name's Uma." She said. His mind struggled to make something out of it, but alas, he couldn't come up with anything.  
  
"Whatever. Go away now." He whined, pulling the covers over his head. She rolled her eyes. What a loser. She got up and walked out, wondering what she was going to do with this "Curse" that had been placed upon her life.  
  
And so time passed. She took care of him while he remained weak, though he continually tried escaping in whatever ways he could. Eventually he deemed it futile and decided to wait until he got better to take care of whatever business he was so desperate to take care of. And soon he began dreading the day he needed to leave. Here he didn't have to do anything. Uma was always there to attend to his needs, however unhappy it made her. And it seemed that soon he was better again.  
  
"Seems you're all better now. That's means you're ready to leave, right?" She asked, sitting out on the field.  
  
"That means you won't miss me...at all...right?" He asked, sitting next to her.  
  
"Nope, won't miss you at all." She said cheerfully.  
  
"Good then, because I won't miss you either." He replied bitterly.  
  
"Where will you go anyways? I always wondered what guys with no life did with there free time." She asked.  
  
"I don't know. I have Nowhere to go. I'm all alone. I could go get revenge, but I have no idea where to start." He sighed. "But since I'm not wanted..." He got up, brushed himself off and started walking off when she called his name.  
  
"You want to stay, don't you, Curse?" She asked.  
  
"I never said that! Why would I want to stay here?" He asked, fakely angry.  
  
"Curse? You can stay, that is, if you want to." She smiled and shrugged.  
  
"Oh, I get it. You WANT me to stay. I mean, after all you live here alone and obviously can't take care of yourself." He said.  
  
"What! Excuse me! I've been taking care of you for the past two weeks! I can take care of myself, it's YOU I'm worried about!" She argued.  
  
"So you worry for me now?" He taunted.  
  
"Arg! How could I even offer to let you stay? Who was I kidding? Go! Get out!" She shouted.  
  
"Uma, I was just playing. I-I..." He said before realizing he had fallen into her trap. "You sly little..."  
  
"Oh? So you DO want to stay! And I though you hated it here." She laughed. He growled, but knew he had already accepted. "So lets discuss earning your keep."  
  
"Earning my keep? You mean I have to work to stay here?" He said, totally appalled.  
  
"Yes. I always need help with the horses and the housework. I mean you do owe me. Do you think I LIKE having you around? That would be a joke. But having you around would be an advantage to me. If I could finish things faster I would finally have some free time." She said. He sighed. There just had to be a catch. So then he took care of her horses in the morning and groomed them while she trained them, fed them, and took care of her house and all that while they were slowly getting on better terms. She didn't even mind when he attempted to cook and accidentally blew up the kitchen. In fact she laughed about it for hours. And she had to admit that the horses liked him. He turned out to be a much better person than she had thought when he wasn't just laying around and giving orders. She found him to be quite charming when she looked past the annoying rude comments and the constant sarcasm. So slowly he grew on her and she on him until it was the most normal thing for them to just joke around and do everything together and it was that way for the whole year he stayed with her. Then one night he barged into her room in a frenzy. He said he had had some sort of vision and that he had to leave and he had to leave as soon as possible.  
  
"But you can't leave, Curse!" She said chasing him out to the middle of the ranch and finally catching up with him.  
  
"I have to. I have no choice. I-I don't want to, but..." He said looking away, telling himself that only a sissy would cry.  
  
"But what? Don't you like it here? Don't you want to stay here with me? I can't do everything without you! Why not one more day?" She said, tears rolling down her cheeks.  
  
"I can't! Don't you understand! I have to leave NOW! Don't make this harder than it already is." He shouted.  
  
"But I don't understand! Why!" She cried.  
  
"I promised you that I wouldn't hurt you and by staying here that's exactly what I'd be doing. I don't want you involved. I saw what would happen if I don't leave and I couldn't let anything happen to you. If he takes you away from me too then I'll have nothing. I'll be worse than dead. I have to go away. Then he'll never come here." He said, eyes narrowed.  
  
"Who? The man you got away from when you first got here? Tell me Curse!" She pleaded.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"It doesn't matter! I'll help you! We can defeat him together, right? We can take him! I don't want you to leave!" She said, trying to be good spirited.  
  
"No. You'll be killed and he'll leave me alive to wallow in my sorrow. I saw it all. It was the most horrible thing I could ever see in my life and the worst thing was that I was powerless. I was powerless to stop my mother from dying at his hands and if I stay here I'll be powerless and I'll...you'll die right in front of my eyes." He said shaking. "I can't let it happen. I have to leave. Goodbye, Uma. It was nice living here. But I should have known it was too good to last. I should have left long ago and never gotten so attached to you. Goodbye." He said turning his back on her and walking away.  
  
"CURSE! KAZERU! WAIT PLEASE!" She cried, walking after him. He broke into a run and she began to run after him, but he outran her and she fell to her knees. He stopped at the entrance of the ranch and wiped away his tears, before turning around to look at her.  
  
"I PROMISE UMA! I PROMISE THAT IF I LIVE THROUGH THIS SOMEDAY I'LL COME BACK TO YOU! I PROMISE!" He shouted and then turned back and ran away, vanishing into the night.  
  
**End Flash Back**  
  
Uma trembled as she remembered everything they had gone through together. When she found him, the times they spent doing just about everything together, and when he left her. She lunged at him hugging him fiercely, causing him to blush terribly. All of a sudden out of nowhere she slapped him, leaving him looking totally shocked and confused. She dusted off her hands and smirked contently.  
  
"What, pray tell me, was that for?" He asked bitterly after minutes of silence.  
  
"That was for taking SEVEN YEARS to come back. Some promise keeper." She scoffed. He frowned.  
  
"I've been...busy. VERY busy." He replied finally.  
  
"So I see. What have you done with yourself? You've become a total tyrant! This is not at all what I expected of you!" She scolded.  
  
"Yea, well it's not like any of those people did anything for me. Did they ever try to help my mother to raise a family on her own? NO! They just left us in the forest alone to fend for ourselves. I heard the rumors they said about us every time we went into town! Did they try to save my family when that man came and killed my mother? NO! Out of every house in that town none of them would shelter me when I tried to escape from that murderer. You were the only other human who would accept me, and when I was forced to leave here who did I have? They would never accept me. All they are are a bunch of heartless misers who only look out for themselves. That's how all of us are somewhere inside of us. None of us can forever drown those feelings of greed, hatred, anger, discrimination, and the whole works. Uma, I couldn't kill him. He nearly took my life again. But someone gave me a choice right before I died. The choice was to gain all the power I could ever want and exact revenge on that killer and all of the other people who so easily rejected me, or die. So I chose, which is quite evident. I never knew I had magic potential or sword fighting skills, or anything...but I learned it all and look at what I can do now! Also I discovered about true human nature. It doesn't matter what happens, but we're always going to kill each other. Nothing can ever stop that as long as we exist. So what does it matter if I kill someone anyways? They were going to die eventually. They're insignificant. If they're going to die then why not I be the one to control it? And why shouldn't I be the one to benefit from their deaths? Not like they ever cared if I died. We're all simply pawns, puppets, born to die. It's survival of the fittest, but you wouldn't understand. You're so isolated here in you tiny ranch. What I wouldn't give to live your life." He said darkly. Her eyes grew wide in horror.  
  
"W-what happened to you Curse? Y-You're not yourself." She said softly.  
  
"What? I've changed. Of course, Uma. People change. It's what the world does to you. If I could I would have wished that things could go back to the way they used to be. Just you and me living here and managing on our own, but I don't know if it could ever be the same. I care about you more than anything, but now I have a purpose, a role in life." He said.  
  
"You're wrong Curse. Your role in life isn't this! It couldn't be! Don't you understand that your motives are all wrong? Don't you see how horrible what your doing is?" She asked desperately trying to enlighten him.  
  
"Come with me. Please, Uma. I could show you that I'm right. I could show you what everyone else is truly like." He said taking her hand.  
  
"No!" She shouted, ripping it away. "I couldn't Curse. I could never willingly do what you've done to yourself. I could never sink that low. I still love you, but...I'll never learn to accept you like this." She said. He frowned.  
  
"I have to leave then. I have...things to do. Uma, I wish you would come with me, but I don't think you can be swayed. Please try to understand. Maybe someday I'll be back again. I really do care about you." He said, turning and beginning to leave.  
  
"Before you go.....I care about you to. I'll be here if you decide to change. I know somehow you'll see. Eventually you'll see that everything you've been doing is wrong. It doesn't matter how long it takes but I'll wait here for you to come back, because I know that eventually everything will become clear and I'll be right here for you when it does." She said with a smile. He stood in the doorway for a couple of seconds and finally stepped out, disappearing from her sights. How was she to now he hadn't left?  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The sky was dark around the area where they had first entered the ruins. It was not the happy golden place it had been and Tali and Kiyon were nowhere to be seen. They stared up and there was a massive black platform with strange designs all over it. The gold and white Pegasus flew up to the platform, determined to save their mistress. Everyone gasped as they saw a massive ball of magic engulf them and as they fell back to the ground. Hotaru ran up to where they landed and gasped. They were completely stone. Everyone ran up and saw.  
  
"Oh Kiyon. What's happened to you? If you're hurt..." She growled. She stared at the black Pegasus. "Night Sky? Will you take me up there?" She asked. Night Sky nodded and suddenly grew to the size of a normal horse. Hotaru jumped on and they flew off.  
  
"Hotaru? What are you doing? Come back!" Kive shouted up. "You can't do it by yourself! It's too dangerous!"  
  
"There's only enough room on this horse for one. Besides, I have no choice. I have to do this." She said.  
  
"Hotaru!! You don't have too!" He shouted, but she did not return only continued going up. "Oh god. Don't get yourself killed, Hotaru. I don't know what I'll do with myself. I don't know what Matt will do to me. Please return okay." He whispered.  
  
Hotaru held on to the horse's mane constantly steering it out of the way of the magic that was constantly flying at them. Finally they made it to the edge of the platform, but suddenly Night Sky was hit. Hotaru's eyes grew big and she jumped off and grabbed the edge of the platform and watched in horror as the black horse struggled to fly as the stone began to envelop over it, weighing it down. It let out a cry and fell to the ground, pure stone.  
  
"Night Sky! No! I'm so sorry." She said. Then her eyes narrowed and she pulled herself up, more determined than ever. As she came up she quickly dodged out of the way of a magic sphere that had been meant for her.  
  
"Stop!" She heard Oka shout.  
  
"Oka?" She called out. "If you're responsible for this!" Hotaru shouted. She stared in the direction she heard his voice and saw him grabbing the wrist of a girl about to hurl another magic blast at her. Next to the stood Kitsu, totally shocked at her brother's actions.  
  
"Let go, stupid wolf." The girl shouted, shaking her wrist.  
  
"I don't think it's fair." Oka said. "If you're going to fight her then really fight her."  
  
"Oka." Hotaru growled.  
  
"Hotaru! You don't stand a chance! You don't know who she is! You can't fight her." The girl wrenched her wrist out of his hand and fired the magic at Hotaru. Hotaru put up a silence wall and frowned seeing it had been turned into complete stone and was starting to close in. She took it off immediately. Well that wouldn't work.  
  
"Oka, please don't interrupt my mistress. You know she's bad when she's angry." Kitsu said, for once actually worried.  
  
"Oka. Kitsu. Go down and fight the others." She commanded. Kitsu nodded and disappeared. Oka stared at Hotaru a second longer.  
  
"Good bye for sure Hotaru." He said and disappeared. Hotaru wondered what he meant by that. The girl's glare focused on Hotaru.  
  
"Well? What do you want?" The girl asked impatiently. "I don't have all day. Ah yes. You're Hotaru. I've heard of you. You're the one who always needs saving. The one who always gets Matt in trouble. Where is Matt anyways? Isn't he supposed to be protecting you?" She taunted.  
  
"Shut up. I can take care of myself. What have you done with Kiyon?" She shouted.  
  
"You mean him?" She asked, motioning behind her. Hotaru squinted and low and behold, there was Kiyon, completely stone. Hotaru gasped and set her gaze to the girl again, a glare of total hatred dancing in her eyes.  
  
"Kiyon! You better change him back right now! Change everything back!" Hotaru shouted.  
  
"Or what? I'll be sorry? I'd like to see you try to defeat me! If I could defeat the Maiden of Hope what makes you think you can defeat me?" She said.  
  
"I'll never forgive you, Midian" Hotaru heard Tali shouted.  
  
"Psh. Whoever said I needed your forgiveness. So Hotaru. Are you challenging me?" She said. Hotaru studied her. She wore a black shirt that went down stopping before her stomach with purple trims and a weird purple pattern of lace in the front and three cuts on both sides of the shirt. It's sleeves were transparent fabric that fell loose to about halfway to her elbow and underneath them she had flat lace brassards on both arms. Right below her elbows was a poofy lavender sleeve things tied to her arms by black bands at the elbows and wrists. From the sleeves down to the bands at her wrist ran a string of lavender beads. Her black skirt had a lavender band going down with some sort of weird writing framed by gold and went down to her knees with a loop of ribbon coming down at the sides of her skirt a little lower than her knees. Her black boots went up to her knees and was held together by belts. Her own belt looked more like a purple sash, besides the fact that a sheath hung from it. Her eyes were black, just like Hotaru's and her hair was jet black with lavender streaks. In her hair, which she wore in a bun with loose hair falling from it, she wore a golden tiara with a black tear-shaped stone hanging down onto her forehead. And from her back protruded black angel wings. She really wouldn't look that dangerous if it hadn't been for the lust for death in her eyes and the dark aura that circulated around her. "Well, Hotaru? What are you waiting for? Do you want to fight or should I just turn you to stone now?" She taunted.  
  
"I'll fight you." Hotaru growled. "I'll fight you and I'll win! Without Magic!" She shouted.  
  
"I'd like to see that. Well if you wont use your magic, I wont use mine." She said walking over to Hotaru, unsheathing her sword while she was at it. Hotaru pulled out her glaive. They set the blades against each other, then a split second later they began to fight. The sword swung at Hotaru in a side chop and she ducked under it and moved to the side. The girl whirled around swing her sword while she was at it. Hotaru blocked it with the pole and pushed it while moving, using it to maneuver herself to the side again and simply thrust the blade of the glaive at the girl's head. The girl moved her head to the side just in time and moved to face Hotaru again. Hotaru stood poised and ready to fight again. She swung her blade in fluid circular motions forcing the girl back. The girl jumped back and flew into the air, bringing her blade down straight at Hotaru. Hotaru brought her pole in the way just in time to block it. She pushed up as the girl pushed down, but it was no use and the girl remained in the air, fighting Hotaru from there. She swung her blade at Hotaru in fast swings; so fast Hotaru didn't have time to take advantage of her weaknesses. Hotaru was driven back, going defense the whole time. All of a sudden Hotaru felt the heel of her boot go over the edge of the platform, causing her to lose concentration. Suddenly the blade was coming at her again from the side and she was caught between going forward and blocking the blow. Almost automatically she brought up her blade to counter it but was barely quick enough and the blade caught her from the edge of her shoulder to the base of her neck, where she had stopped it. She winced in pain and then realized she had started to lose her balance. The girl slammed the blade over, driving it into her collarbone and pushing her off the edge. She reached out and grabbed the edge with her bad arm, causing to almost let go in pain. Somehow, despite the pain, and using the glaive to pole her over she managed to swing herself up and slam her foot into the girl's stomach, sending her flying. Hotaru gripped her shoulder healing it a little and then charged at the girl, who was now on the ground again. The girl pushed Hotaru's blade aside and stabbed at her. Hotaru caught the sword in the fork of her glaive and pushed it up, then sidestepped, taking her glaive with her and swinging at the girl again. Their swords met with a clang and the both of them pushed as hard as they could, but were of equal strength. All of a sudden the girl ducked low, hooked her foot around Hotaru's and pulled, causing Hotaru to trip and fall on her back. She stabbed at Hotaru. Hotaru rolled out of the way wincing as she rolled over her shoulder. The girl lunged at her, blade coming down; Hotaru blocked it just before it hit her. And they pushed against each other's weapons once again. Hotaru struggled as the girl's sword got closer to her neck. Just when she felt her arms would give out the sign of Saturn glowed on her forehead and a purple glow glazed over her glaive and a large amount of force surged through it forcing the girl back.  
  
"That was an accident." Hotaru muttered, getting up. The girl glared at her.  
  
"You cheated so I get to use my magic too." She said, soaring up high, where Hotaru couldn't reach her. She swirled her hand around in the air, casing some sort of magic portal to appear. Then she pointed down at Hotaru and where Hotaru was it began to rain down spikes. Not like the spikes that Oka had shot in his 2nd beast form, but longer, sharper, faster, bigger, and not to mention 10x more dangerous. Hotaru put up a silence wall, but continued trying to dodge, realizing that the last time she had used her silence wall, and she was correct. The spikes passed right through it almost hitting her. She backed up attempting to dodge and still got grazed by about have of them, and every time they grazed her that part of her seemed to scream out in pain, as if it had been burned. She stumbled back and once again she felt her heel go over the edge. 'Oh no. Not again.' She thought to herself. She glared at the girl. She refused to lose. "Death Ribbon Revolution!" She shouted sending her attack straight at the girl. The attack hit her head on and sent her falling to the ground, looking totally mutilated.  
  
"You-You'll pay for this Hotaru..." She said weakly. Then she began laughing.  
  
"What's so funny?" Hotaru growled. Walking over. The girl shook her head refusing to answer. She raised her glaive to the girl's neck. "What's so funny." The girl stopped and smirked at her.  
  
"Look at you. Wasting your time here messing with Kitsu, Oka, and I when your Matt is back where you left him with no one to help him when my master comes. By now, you're probably too late. He's probably dead and it's all your fault for leaving him." She taunted cockily. Hotaru's eyes shimmered in fear. "So Hotaru. Hurry back and see if he's okay. I seriously doubt it." She said and disappeared, leaving Hotaru in shock.  
  
"Matt..." She whispered. All of a sudden the platform began to shake and fall, sending Kiyon, Tali, and Hotaru hurtling to the ground. But Hotaru didn't notice. Her mind was racing. What could have happened to Matt? Was he even alive anymore? The platform crashed down to the ground in a violent jolt, but Hotaru didn't care. Meanwhile, everything that had been turned to stone had now gotten normal again, and Tali was released from the cage she had been held in. Tali ran up to Hotaru.  
  
"Hotaru...don't worry about it. Matt can more than easily take care of himself from what I've heard. He was chosen to come here and if he can't take care of himself fate will take care of him." She said, trying to be encouraging.  
  
"Who was that, Tali?" Hotaru asked subconsciously.  
  
"The maiden of kindness, Midian." She said  
  
"She's not kind at all, that horrible witch." Hotaru shouted. "Matt...please be okay." She whispered. Kiyon ran up to her.  
  
"Hotaru! You saved me!" Kiyon shouted.  
  
"Now's not the time, Kiyon." She murmured. She jumped down from the platform and walked up to everyone. She looked to Kitsu and Oka.  
  
"Go...your mistress has left you." She said.  
  
"You're alive?" Oka asked, surprised.  
  
"GO!" She shouted. Oka stared at her confused and then grabbed Kitsu's hand.  
  
"Kitsu, let's go." He said, and then with that he disappeared.  
  
"Tali, we have to leave NOW. Please just get it over with really quick." Hotaru said impatiently.  
  
"I'll send you off now. I'll keep Kiyon a little longer. I'll give him the crest and everything. I know how worried you are so you guys go on." She responded.  
  
"I don't get it. What happened?" Kive asked.  
  
"Something's been going on at the ranch while you were gone. Hotaru wants to see if Matt's okay." She explained. "Okay, go now." She said, warping them off.  
  
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Matt turned around, hearing a crash from behind him. There, behind him was Kazeru (A/N: Thought I'd exercise his name just a bit. You know, break it in.) dusting off some glass from the window.  
  
"You! Uma better not be hurt!" Matt growled.  
  
"Uma's fine. Worry about yourself." He said, unsheathing his sword. Matt grabbed his and got ready to fight. 'You know...why bother? I want to get this over with so I can get on to other business.' He thought, putting his sword away.  
  
"Well if you're not going to fight me, then I'll fight you!" Matt said, lunging at him. Kazeru stepped to the side, out of the way and blasted Matt with a magic burst, slamming Matt into the wall.  
  
"Don't be rash. Do you really think you can defeat me?" He scoffed.  
  
"What did you do?" Matt scowled. Though he tried he couldn't seem to move.  
  
"I used a paralyze spell. Just a simple one. My next spell will be a lot more...dangerous." He said with a smirk. He lifted Matt up by the collar and with the other hand began to charge a dark magic sphere. He began to chant something and was about to fire the magic when Dark SM suddenly popped up, startling him. He almost let it go, but stopped just in time.  
  
"Master. Umm, their back and Hotaru's going up the stairs as I speak. We have to leave. RIGHT NOW!" He shouted. Matt let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"Stupid IDIOT! Can't you see I'm busy? Do you know what would happen if this spell went wrong?" Kazeru raged. Dark SM shook his head no, backing off. It was no good to mess with his master when he got angry.  
  
"Well, NEITHER DO I!!! All the more reason to make sure it DOESN'T!!!" He shouted. Dark SM nodded feverously. "Now shut up and let me finish." Dark SM nodded again. Kazeru began to charge the magic again. "This time you're going to die..." He growled to Matt. Matt glared at him, but could do nothing to stop him. Just then Hotaru slammed the door open, causing Kazeru to lose total concentration and accidentally fire the magic. Matt squeezed his eyes closed, thinking it was the end as it hit him straight on. But little did either of them know that the spell had gone terribly awry...  
  
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Okay, longest chapter yet. What do you think? Was it okay to you? It was sort of gay, nee? Well actually it was really gay. Yeah. I hope you weren't too disappointed. It was pretty stupid, huh? Well, please review anyways. Tell me what you think. It would be much appreciated. Dang...this chapter doesn't even really make sense. Oh wellz. Heh, sorri it took so long. I've been grounded for like the past month or two and plus this it the longest chapter yet so it took me a very long time. I didn't really want to post it, but oh well. I mean, what the heck. I spent a lot of time on it, so I don't want to waste my efforts, however gay it turned out. I just posted it. Also partially cuz Lynn chan said it would make her happy. It's way to action packed!! You probably all were like wishing for it to end. Arg, it doesn't matter. I won't let it spoil my happiness of the coming of summer vacation. See yaz.  
  
At a later time: DARN IT!!! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TRIES IT TOOK ME TO UPLOAD THIS CHAPTER!! NOT EVEN FUNNI!!! I mean the document manager was being dysfunctional and royally pissing me off for the like ten million times I tried to upload it. It had nothing to do with my chapter and it was only on FF.net because I could upload it onto Fictionpress.net! Oh wellz. It got uploaded didn't it? *sighs* Well, see you laterz. 


	14. Confusion

Konnichiwa everyone!!! Here's my next chapter that I really don't know what to do with. I mean I know what went wrong with the spell, but I really don't know where to go from there! *Sighs* I hope you guys are ready for another unplanned chapter of mumbo jumbo! Well, I'm giving it to you!!  
  
Chotto Matte o Kudasai!! I have to say the disclaimer first......... Teehee! ^^;  
  
Evil Disclaimer that I always have to write: I don't own Digimon or Sailor Moon, nor do I own the characters that come from those shows. People more important and way richer than me do. SHADOW MATT IS MIIIIIIIINNEEEE!!!! So please don't steal him! ^^ Or Kive either. He's mine too! Oh and all the original characters are mine too. And not to mention this story plot. And my house. And also this computer and typing on. And NOT TO MENTION THAT BOX OF DONUTS!!! Hands OFF!  
  
SM: *moves hand away from donut box* B-but you owe me one!  
  
Megumi: Nuh uh! How do I owe you?  
  
SM: You promised that every time you beat me up I get a donut. Isn't that what you said?  
  
Megumi: Okay, but just one.  
  
SM: *grabs whole box and makes dash for life*  
  
Megumi: *shouts* I'll get you later. Ignore us! *Smiles dangerously* Anyhoo, here's Chapter 14. (I never thought I'd write this much! Dang, I have no life.)  
  
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If Darkness Could Befriend  
  
Chapter 14: Confusion  
  
"Oh my Gosh. Matt." Hotaru gasped as she burst into the room. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. She watched, her mind brimming in pure horror as the spell hit Matt straight on. Suddenly the whole room erupted with the light of the spell but she didn't even flinch. "MATT!" She screamed in sheer alarm as the light faded. Slowly her burning, tear filled eyes adjusted to the light and she could see again. There was Matt, sitting on the ground, seeming perfectly normal, though he did look slightly dazed. Hotaru glanced around quickly, scanning for the ruler of Dark SM. They were gone from what she could see. To where, she could care less. She let out a sigh of relief and realized she was crying. She walked over and dropped to her knees, embracing him softly with one arm while quickly wiping away her tears. Suddenly he grabbed her by the shoulders and held her away. The confusion was evident in his face. He shook his head once as if trying to shake something away. What was wrong with him? "No........." Matt whispered and stood up, walking briskly away, leaving Hotaru sitting bewildered on the floor.  
  
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Matt rushed outside the house avoiding Uma, though she had called to him, wondering if he was okay. He ignored her every word. Only one thought rushed through his head, repeating over and over and over again. 'No, no, no, no, no.........' Matt thought over and over again. Where was he going? He didn't care. He had to get away. Had to. Blinded by his one mindset he didn't notice as someone suddenly blocked his path. He stared up with annoyance and tried to move aside when this obstacle seized his arm. Matt focused on something but nothing happened. Frowning he struggled to jerk his arm away.  
  
"What the heck's wrong with you? She was so worried that something had happened to you but.........nothing. If you were going to make her so grief stricken you should have at least lost an arm or something!" Kive scowled. He seemed tense and worried. Matt raised his hand, irritated, and blasted a fireball in Kive's face. He dropped Matt's arm immediately as his hands shot up to his face. Just the effect Matt had desired. With that he was off again.  
  
"What the hell is his problem!" Kive growled, rubbing his face in pain.  
  
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Matt stood in the stables, finally able to start thinking straight. He stood, eyes lowered to the ground, silent as he continually stroked a gray mare's forehead. Thoughts were rushing through his head, confusing him, but he struggled to keep himself from panicking. Slowly he suppressed his thoughts until he felt totally under control. How could this have happened? How could he have LET this happen? How could he be stuck in his worst foes body? He, Kazeru, was in quite the predicament.  
  
His first thought was to kill Matt's friends. Upon closer inspections of Matt's powers, though, Kazeru discovered three spells, none of which proved to be fatal. Never had he felt so useless without magic. Magic was out of the question. His next alternative: the sword. Kazeru could do away with all of them with a sword. But to his utter dismay he soon discovered this solution was impossible as well. As he tried to reach for the hilt of Matt's blade an awkward, warning feeling shot up his arm. What's more, when he touched it he felt a whole shock wave of unbearable pain current though him. Kazeru had given up immediately. He searched for extra daggers or swords in Matt's bag and found none. He could fight with his fists, but it would take forever and could easily be trounced with a weapon. With no magic or weapons he was pathetic and defenseless. But yet, this body wasn't completely useless. It had its advantages. At that he smirked. Kazeru could use Matt's body to find out more about this little group of opposition. It would be a wonderful upside to learn their weaknesses. Fitting in with his enemies would provide him with an abundance of knowledge that could surely use against them. And if he was to be stuck in this body for longer than he'd like he could always ruin Matt's friendships for amusement. It was perfect. And even if Matt had somehow gotten back to Kazeru's home in his body he probably wouldn't be able to pose as Kazeru for long. He'd be found out; if not by his followers, then by Her. He stopped petting the mare suddenly as if troubled. Would Kazeru be as easily found out? Would Uma be his undoing? He must try to pretend that he had no knowledge of horses. The horse nudged his hand longingly and he sighed, turning with sympathy to the horse.  
  
"I'm sorry, Whisp." Kazeru began to pet it again. "It's me, Kazeru. You do remember me, right?" So strange, the ruler of Esirnus speaking with such calmness and kindness in his voice. He paused as the horse snorted. "I'm not stupid enough to dye my hair blonde........." Kazeru growled. "I'm just stuck in someone else's body." Whisp whickered.  
  
"Ha, ha, ha, very funny......... No, I'm not that stupid anymore. And my hair wasn't intentionally white. I just had an accident with the flour." The horse seemed to laugh and remind him of something. He blushed terribly.  
  
"SILENCE! I told you NEVER to bring up that incident again!! It was just a phase! Uma and I are just friends. If you keep saying stuff like that then I'll never tell you another blasted thing in my life!" He paused suddenly as the horse commented again. His eyes darkened instantly.  
  
"I had to leave. For Uma's sake. I didn't plan on coming back and I don't plan on staying." Whisp whinnied again. "No, Uma doesn't know. If she found out it would ruin everything." Kazeru's eyes softened again. "Of course I missed you. But I can't stay here. I have a purpose now and being here would only take that purpose away." The horse glared at him.  
  
"Don't you dare." He growled. The horse stared at him with a look of 'what'll you do about it?' "If you dare tell Uma, I'll never, ever return." Kazeru said coldly. The mare was silent.  
  
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"Shut up, Midian!" A voice shouted. A very familiar voice.  
  
"You fool! How could you let this happen! Master will have your head!" A girl said. Her voice was very beautiful yet very dangerous at the same time.  
  
"Why would he have my head when it's all your fault!" The familiar voice raged.  
  
"My fault? How the HECK is it MY fault! You interrupted the spell!" The girl snapped back. Matt sat up and felt strangely different. Everything seemed smaller. And wherever Matt was he had never been before. He felt like lying back down. Why did he feel so terrible? He remembered the spell. Was this terrible feeling because of the spell? What had the spell done? Why wasn't he dead? He'd try to find out the answers later when he felt better. Suddenly the two that were arguing instantly stared up him. The girl instantly shot up from her seat at the foot of the bed he laid on. Matt stared to the owner of the familiar voice and saw Shadow Matt. He looked a bit different. He too straightened when he realized Matt had awakened. What was going on?  
  
"Master? Are you okay? Thanks to the hatchling over here, you went unconscious. He luckily had the sense to teleport you back here." She rolled his eyes.  
  
"Ahem, I'll get back to you on that later." Shadow Matt said sternly, practically letting it slide. Matt frowned. What was this nonsense? Suddenly it hit him! This girl was not a friend, but one of the ruler's followers. The guy was not Shadow Matt, but Dark Shadow Matt, and he was in the body of the single most powerful human on this side of the planet. He was in the body of the ruler of Esirnus. He bit his lip to keep from panicking. He had to stay cool and not let them find out it was him. He believed his life depended on it. Or at least his freedom. How would he do this? He would never be able to fool them! He knew nothing of the ruler and thus he didn't know how to act. His mind searched for a way through his predicament. Maybe he could feign amnesia. Maybe it would work. He had to try it at the very least!  
  
"What?" He asked. His voice was so different. It was so strange to hear the words he said in such a different voice.  
  
"Is.........something the matter, master?" The girl asked.  
  
"Where am I? Who are you?" He asked, putting on the best confused face that he could. "Who am I?" The girl and Dark SM turned to each other.  
  
"Master, are you okay?" She asked, confused.  
  
"Who are you and what do you want?" Matt snapped. Maybe it would seem more realistic if he threw a bit of cruelty in.  
  
"You don't remember me?" Matt shook his head.  
  
"Am I supposed to remember you?" He asked suspiciously. She bit her lip, obviously more than a little irritated. Apparently she found favor in her position under her ruler and it hurt her that he didn't know who she was.  
  
"My name is Midian. I am the Maiden of Kindness, though many don't think me to fit the position. I have also been your apprentice and devoted follower for five years." She said, eyes sparkling with hope. She thought maybe that would make him remember. But Matt couldn't remember. She was beautiful in his opinion. But to be the all-mighty ruler's apprentice was quite a feat and she must be very cruel and powerful. But that didn't seem to match with her being the maiden of kindness. How was that possible? In the whole time he had been in this land he hadn't heard of her once. Matt sighed. It was obviously hard to remember her when he had never known her in the first place. "I watch over everything that goes on practically. I put a stop rebellious people and towns? I'm your first in command?" She tried desperately. Dark SM rolled his eyes.  
  
"He doesn't remember you, Midian. He doesn't remember anything about you. He probably doesn't remember anything at all. Just as well. I was starting to resent him and his constant blaming."  
  
"Don't talk to me as if I'm not here." Matt scowled. "Who are you?" Matt asked, glaring to give the affect of being pissed off.  
  
"I'm Dark SM. I'm Lanalli's creation. I posses power over shadows and slight magic. I don't enjoy working for hotheads who demand me around and don't do anything themselves." He growled. Matt understood what he was implying. Suddenly and explosion occurred in front of Dark Shadow Matt's face, blasting him into the wall.  
  
"How DARE you speak to our master in such away. If he remembers you speaking like that he'll torture you so terribly that you'll be begging for death." She hissed. Dark SM twitched and pulled himself out of the hole in the wall he'd created. The attack had been so unexpected he hadn't had the time to think about going into the shadows. He winced, rubbing his face. "You deserved it."  
  
"I did not! You're just being a wench AGAIN!" He shouted. Midian slapped him and Matt admitted it sounded very painful as it echoed through the room.  
  
"I may be a wench, but I'm a powerful wench who could disintegrate you in five seconds flat." She growled.  
  
"I'd like to see that!" He snorted. Matt saw a spell materialize in her hands. It looked very deadly, though it was white magic, and he shied away a little. Dark SM saw it as well. "You wouldn't." The spell got bigger. "I was just playing Midian, stop it!" Even bigger. "I'm serious Midian! I'm sorry!" He said, getting a little freaked. She smiled and it vanished. "I'm sorry you're so stupid." Dark SM snickered. Midian sprung upon him and knocked him over. He slinked into the shadows before she could do anything further to him.  
  
"Coward." She shrugged.  
  
"Shut up. I don't want the crap beat out of me." He growled from the shadows.  
  
"I'm sorry, hatchling. I forgot you couldn't handle it." Midian taunted to draw him out. Because of all his pride and hard-headedness, it worked. She didn't try to beat on him any further as a thought raced through her head and she grew angry.  
  
"You know, master's amnesia is all YOUR fault!" She growled. He glared at her.  
  
"I thought we already went through this. It's not my fault, it's yours!" He growled.  
  
"My fault? Psh. It's all your fault! You interrupted the spell, delaying him!" She accused.  
  
"No, I didn't. Hotaru interrupted the spell. If you had just killed her like you were commanded to Matt would be dead as well and all of our problems would be resolved!" He blamed.  
  
"Whatever. It was my first true failure in five years of dedication to our master. With you hatchling, you've barely been alive long enough to learn how to use your powers and you blow your first mission!" She pointed out.  
  
"It was unfair. You wouldn't understand." He growled.  
  
"You're useless." She said, ridiculing him.  
  
"You're more useless." He growled.  
  
"I'm not useless at all. The master trusts me most out of everyone here. But with you, you're lucky you're still alive." She scoffed. "You're useless. I on the other hand am different. I'm not useless. He likes me. He needs me. He doesn't need you. You're disposable." She laughed. Dark SM opened his mouth to protest but had nothing to counter her statement. He looked down, refusing to admit he was useless.  
  
"Aww! Just kidding, Shadow Matt! You know I love you!!!" She said, pouncing upon him and crushing him in a hug.  
  
"ACK! Don't touch me!!!" He roared, totally appalled, as he disappeared into the shadows. "I'll get you for that Midian........." His voice echoed throughout the room, totally filled with embarrassment. And then he was gone. Matt knew he was gone. He was too embarrassed to stick around. Matt smirked. It was funny hearing them argue. It as like they were related, except the weren't. He wiped the smirk off his face as he noticed her staring at him weirdly.  
  
"You never smile anymore. You used too......but......." She murmured, almost inaudibly. "Anyways, I've got a lot of things to remind you about. Maybe if you see some familiar things you'll remember everything." She sighed. "And master, please forgive me for forgetting my place in front of you and yelling so loud. You know I get carried away when I'm around Shadow Matt. He's such an imbecile, I can't really help myself." She laughed. "I know I'm probably confusing you, but hey! I owe an apology none-the-less. Now let's go. You've got a lot to remember. Geez, master! Can't you walk ANY faster!" She said, dragging him off.  
  
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Kazeru walked in calmly into Uma's house and suddenly all eyes were upon him. He frowned as if confused and rubbed his head. "...............What happened?" Kazeru murmured as if slightly dazed. It was all an act of course.  
  
I'm so happy you okay!" Hotaru said, launching herself at him and crushing him in a hug. Kazeru wanted to push her away. He wanted to smack her. He wanted to blast her with magic. Sadly, he couldn't do anything.  
  
"I'm sorry for making you worry, but I'm fine." He said, very seriously. She nodded and let go of him, frowning.  
  
"Gee Matt. Thanks so much. I've always wanted a fireball straight into my face. You're such a freak." Kive growled.  
  
"You deserved it......... I bet........." Kazeru snapped and sighed. He hadn't meant to do that, but oh well. Soon everyone began to ask if he was okay. He assured them all he was. His eyes landed on Shadow Matt and he frowned in disgust, the words 'traitor' forming on his lips. In his mind he pushed it aside. He had never needed this Shadow Matt anyways. Uma stepped forward and Kazeru suddenly felt extremely nervous.  
  
"Matt, I think you've had enough action for a night. You should go to sleep. You must be tired." She said sternly. He frowned.  
  
"No, I'm fine" He assured, smiling, though it seemed slightly fake.  
  
"You should really go to sleep now. It's past twelve and I want you to get better........." Uma sighed.  
  
'Better from what?' He thought out curiously. She frowned at his long silence. "I'll go to sleep now." Kazeru said quickly before she had anytime to think about it. He dashed up the stair and made his way to the room on the way left on impulse.  
  
"What are you doing Matt?" Kive growled, twitching. Kazeru frowned, immediately feeling as if he had made a mistake. But what?  
  
"Matt? Why are you going into Kive's room?" Uma asked suspiciously. Kazeru cursed his foolishness, reminding himself that his time here would be extremely different from before. He turned around as if nothing was wrong and walked calmly to Matt's room.  
  
"I'm sorry. I made a mistake. So many rooms, you know." He said grinding his teeth. He walked into Matt's room and slammed the door. He cursed himself over and over again for trying to go into his old room. How could he be so stupid? Being in Matt's body must seriously be affecting his brain.  
  
Meanwhile, outside, a frown crossed Uma's face.  
  
"What's wrong, Uma?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Uma said, waving her odd feeling away while smiling fakely at Hotaru.  
  
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Midian was giving Matt a tour of the whole place. She was really nice to him and acted as if she was important to him. Matt knew she would be very important if she was the ruler's apprentice. But she was also the mistress of kindness. How could she be the maiden of kindness when she was under the most dangerous man in all of Esirnus? And for five years. Were the other maidens fine with this? Was there something he wasn't getting? How would they get the crest of kindness if this girl was working for their enemy? His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden appearance of a boy. Matt stared curiously. The boy reminded him, peculiarly, of a wolf....  
  
"Oka..........." Midian growled slowly, a completely different side from what she had been showing him. What was this girl really like? What would happen if she discovered who he truly was? He shuddered, not even wishing to think about it. "What do you want....... Can't you see the master and I are busy........."  
  
"I........ Forgive me lady Midian......... Orders. They come directly from Mistress Lanalli. She wishes to see the master immediately." The boy known as Oka bowed slightly, seeming somewhat irritated at her rudeness. Midian yawned.  
  
"There you go again, Oka. You're rank is practically the same as mine yet you always yield to me......... you really are so weak at heart." She pointed out, almost as if chastising him. She opened her mouth to speak once more. "Anyways, tell that wench to find something else to do. The master stays with me."  
  
"..........You know very well he must come with me." The wolf boy sighed.  
  
"Meh, I think your wrong. He's stays with me." Midian yawned.  
  
"You know very well, Midian, that I can't go back without him! Besides, it is folly to challenge Mistress Lanalli in such a way. Now stop your selfishness. Master, be it your will, come with me." Oka said, suddenly cross. His eyes shifted to Matt, almost begging him to end Midian's "madness."  
  
"He's not going ANYWHERE with you! Now flake off and die somewhere. I'm FRICKIN too busy to deal with you and your stupid errands!"  
  
"You're such an IDIOT Midian! I've never heard such nonsense in my life! I've been increasingly aware that all that ever comes out of your mouth is trash!  
  
"SILENCE Oka! What? Are you bitter because I almost killed the girl you developed a crush for in five seconds? You DARE to speak to me with such insolence! I tell you, if you don't shut it, I'll destroy you, you stupid wolf! I don't have to listen to that cold old bag and neither does the master. Off with you before I blow a hole through your head." Midian fumed, her eyes suddenly glowing a lavender color.  
  
"Lanalli will be enraged! She'll kill you! Stop this foolishness. It is a simple request and its not like this is anything new! What the heck has gotten into you? And since when did you decide where our master goes or what the heck he does!" Oka shouted, his hands glowing with a dark force as he prepared to fight her.  
  
"Why don't you two just shut up. Your arguing is rather... annoying." Matt snarled, rather coldly, if he did say so himself. Instantly they silenced.  
  
"Forgive us master, we forget our place, quarreling so childishly before you." Oka offered quietly, kneeling before Matt as if he had committed a sin.  
  
"I too apologize, master. We have, indeed, forgotten our place. You have every right to punish us." Midian murmured, dropping her head. "Especially I, this being my second offense today.... In addition Oka and I both failed in our previous missions........ We proved unfit to carry out your orders."  
  
"I suppose I ought to........." Matt growled. He noted instantly how they both shuddered and seemed to brace themselves for some kind of blast. "But I don't think I'll waste my time....... who are you anyways?" He said, directing his stare towards Oka.  
  
"Did I hear him right? He's not punishing us?" Oka murmured almost inaudibly towards Midian, who looked equally as stunned. She seemed to nod. "What was he saying after that? He doesn't know who I am?" He continued to gaze at Midian but she gave him no reply. "You don't remember me master?"  
  
"That's enough Oka. Just go away." Midian grumbled harshly.  
  
"He can answer for himself." Oka snapped to the girl. Then he turned submissively towards Matt. "You don't remember me master?"  
  
"No" Matt replied bluntly. It was the plain truth. It was the first time he had ever laid eyes on this 'Oka.'  
  
"I see. Mistress Lanalli must know about this, immediately." Oka thought out loud, a sort of urgency dwelling in his words.  
  
"You tell her and I'll make you regret it. I have your sister bowing to my every need. Don't forget it." Midian hissed. His two "underlings" locked gazes, their optics narrowed into thin lines. The hostility between them began to spark again and Matt instantly felt the need to interfere.  
  
"You. Oka, I believe. I demand to know who you are and what you want with me." Matt's eyes stared coldly at the wolf, and his tone was nothing short of indifferent.  
  
"As you will, master. I am the wolf demon, Oka. You created my sister and I from your own magic three years ago, if I recall right. You placed my sister under Lady Midian's command, and Lanalli instantly became fond of myself, taking me under her command. Thus, I have been under her orders to bring you back to consult with her over a significant issue-" Midian suddenly interrupted Oka's talk.  
  
"Let me explain to you about that woman. She's a cold- hearted slave driver who expects you to bow to every single one of her commands. She thinks that since she's insanely powerful she can just- "  
  
"I DEMAND you to stop, Midian!! What if she were to hear you spouting out these traitorous words........." Oka seethed, glancing around nervously.  
  
'Silence, Oka. Midian, dearest, do go on. I'm rather curious as to what you were going to say about me.' A voice called, echoing around them. It filled the room, fouling the very air they breathed. Matt couldn't help it; he shuddered. It was so hollow......... so devoid of any feelings. So filled with corruption. He could practically feel it seeping into his body from every side, tightening a grip in his heart. Suddenly Midian instantly dropped to her knees screeching in sheer pain while clenching her head between her hands. 'What were you about to say? I really want to know. I can just what? Manipulate your master? Enslave the world? Oh, and didn't you forget to add that I was a cold, heartless bitch? Or were you getting to that?' The voice began to grow sinister and Matt nearly cried out himself, feeling suffocated, lost. What was this sorcery? It was consuming him, disintegrating his soul with its evil. He began to quiver helplessly under the darkness that seemed to devour every shred of hope; light; everything of goodness. Midian screeched again, so tortured a cry that Matt swore it could shatter glass. 'What, Midian dear? Can't you answer? I'm asking you a question. I do expect an answer, you know, dearest.' The 'voice' seemed to taunt.  
  
"Stop, Mistress, please." Oka whimpered, voice lost among the power of this 'thing' that threatened to destroy them all. Unexpectedly he dropped to his knees, grinding his teeth as if some sort of force had suddenly launched itself upon him.  
  
'Stop Oka? Did you tell me to stop? Is that what? So now must I take orders from you? You would like that wouldn't you?'  
  
"No- Mistress.........Lanalli. My.........only............purpose.........is............to..................serve-" He choked, clenching his fist so hard his nails dug into his skin, as if the pain slowly became more weighted. Then he was released and he collapsed, gasping for breath.  
  
"Stop........." Matt whispered weakly, almost hopelessly.  
  
'As you wish. Though I might advise you, my lord, to severely tighten your grip upon my niece. After all, you don't wish to have a dead apprentice, do you? Ah, and, my lord, I WILL see you later. I guarantee it. Though you may come visit me when ever you see it fit.' It hissed at him, words like poison. 'Yes, and my dear Midian, I'm glad we could have this chat. Aren't you? Perhaps, I should observe your conversations more often. What do you think? And, don't think I've forgotten about you, Oka. I want you by my side in an hour's time. Do feel free to join him, my lord.' As suddenly as it had appeared the voice vanished, taking all its malice and darkness with it. Matt shivered once more, wondering what kind of evil he was up against. Was the ruler his true enemy after all? Or was it really this Lanalli. If so, he was in for a heck of a rocky quest. He didn't even want to think about ever encountering her again, much less defeating her. With just her presence he almost felt himself becoming corrupted. She was so evil. So heartless. So deadly. And so powerful. He was helpless to do anything as she struck down Oka and tortured Midian with no evidence of any strain. Realizing that Midian must have been released from whatever magic inflicted her he instantly looked to her. All he could do was stare as she dropped to the ground, whimpering, her fingers still digging into her scalp as her chest rose and fell shallowly. Tears fled from her black eyes, her face twisted in a look of utmost agony.  
  
"Midian......... Are you-" Oka managed to murmured, shaking off his own pain.  
  
"Get away from me........." Her voice emerged, almost inaudible as she trembled violently from the ground. Matt's eyes softened, and instantly he was by her side. He didn't care if he knew barely anything about this girl; he couldn't watch her suffer like this. No matter whose body he was in, he could never force himself to be that heartless. With worry he placed his scarlet-gloved hand on her shoulder as his crimson orbs scanned her face. Her frightened, tortured eyes looked up at him and he saw, not evil or darkness, but confusion, and deep within them, a sort of trust. "Please master, don't waste your pity on me like this. I should be punished for my weakness; for showing my self so pitifully before you." She whispered hoarsely, struggling to push herself up. Matt cringed upon seeing her spirit so crushed and he longed to help her.  
  
"Stop." Matt snapped, but his voice grew increasingly sympathetic as he proceeded in speaking "You going to hurt yourself. Where's your room? I'll carry you."  
  
"No. No! I can- just warp. You- should leave. Find.........something better to do. You're- just..............wasting your time w- with me." Her voice trembled with strain. But it was too late. Matt had swept her up in his arms and was waiting for directions. Midian looked up at him, her pain slightly forgotten because of the bewilderment and awkwardness. "Why? Why are you.........being.........so nice?" She murmured, suspicious.  
  
"Let him help you, Midian. You're in no condition to get there on your own. Plus, when he gets his memory back, he probably won't show such kindness for you." Oka sighed, returning from his period of silence. Matt pretended he hadn't heard him, but Midian made it obvious she had.  
  
"Sh-shush it. H-he's right here.........you know." She managed to snap. "And why don't y-you do it, O-ka. Y-you still......... remember how to.........warp."  
  
"Desist, Midian. You'll over exert yourself and I don't plan on just standing here for the better half of an hour waiting for directions."  
  
"Forgive my......... incompetence." She begged and began to weakly direct him through the maze of halls in the fortress, leaving Oka to watch them as they disappeared around a corner. There was something definitely strange about the way his master was acting. Something was wrong............  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
So! That's it, guys! It's a bit weird, but I felt I REALLY needed to get it up. And I don't want to reread it cuz then I'm probably not put it up; I know that's probably what'll end up happening if I do read it. *dies* I'm a little rusty so if things don't make sense please understand. I haven't posted for almost a year! Geez, I'm a slacker. I wasn't really into it, and well, I like the plot of this story kind of, but the way I wrote a lot of it......... SUCKS! Yes. I definitely think a lot of parts suck. But I do like a few things about it a lot, and since, apparently, some people still want to read it I'll go on. Heck, I have a lot planned for the future so I hope to finish it, no matter how crappy it turns out. Thanks for your comments, suggestions and supports. And please feel free to tell me if something didn't make sense! Anyways, I need to keep updating so I can use my many chapters to pressure my best friend to continue writing her fic! WEEE!!! Pressuring sure is F.U.N.  
  
M.U.N is R.U.N + R.U.M = F.U.N.  
  
Agh, school is eating me. I'm doing horrible and it is too hard. I'm really busy now a days. I'm sorry my writing isn't very efficient and doesn't make much sense. Perhaps I will try to rewrite the first few chapters, cuz they kind of stink. And please forgive my lack of grammar and spelling skills, and not being articulate. Anyways, about this chapter being so gosh darn SHORT! Well, I DID plan on making it longer, but I decided to cut it down. It seems like I just decided to pick a random spot to cut it off, cuz well that's what I did. But hey, it wouldn't be as fun if I just made them go back to normal right away, right? So, I know, my idea for the spell going wrong was crappy. I had no idea how to do this. I've been debating over it for a long time. So much so that I made two versions of this chappie just to decide which way was better. Well, this chapter is crap but at least it's going to go up. I seriously needed to update. But I was afraid that if I went on I would get too caught up and not haven't anything *S*T*U*N*N*I*N*G* for the next chapter. *gasp* I actually planned this crappy chapter! *dies* Oh well. I guess the whole planning thing doesn't work, cuz it still didn't end up right. Eh, you guys probably aren't even reading this anymore!! GRRRR. Anyways......  
  
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT CHAPTER!?!?!?!? Will Matt and Kazeru be cured of the spell? Will their true identities be discovered? Will Matt fall for this new girl, Midian? WHO is this mysterious Lanalli character? What connection does she have to Kazeru? WHAT dangers does she pose for our little group? FIND OUT, NOT NEXT CHAPTER!!! You guys do realize I'm not going to answer all those questions in the next chapter, right? Heh. Good! WEEEE!! See ya! ^^  
  
~Sleepy Shadow Mistress 


	15. Turmoil

Chapter 15! Chapter 15!!! WEEEEEEEE! I'm sleepy.... falls asleep on keyboard awakens Soo bored. So bored that I think I'll write. So write I shall.

I feel so dull...

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or Sailor Moon. I DO own all original characters and the plot...... which sucks... but that's okay cuz I own Kazeru!!!! If anyone dares to steal him....death..... Oh yeah!

Survey thingee: Out of the original characters..... Who's your favorite?

Chapter 15... Geeeeeeeeemuuuuuu staaaaaaaaatooooo!!! (I love Delita!!! )

-

If Darkness Could Befriend

Chapter 15: Turmoil

The sunlight stretched across the ranch, coaxing its inhabitants to awaken with arm fingers. Yet, for one person, this awakening was unneeded. Watching the sunrise with crimson eyes sat a girl, whose elegance seemed almost catlike. These crimson eyes were trapped in a trance of thought, as if nothing would disturb them. With ghostly silence a shade rose from behind her, seemingly from the shadows.

"Isis, its early. What are you doing out here?" Shadow Matt murmured distraught.

"Humans have so much to think about. So much to always worry about. I never even realized it until now." Isis sighed, brushing a raven lock from her face. A frown found its way onto SM's visage as he took his place besides her, staring into the pink-toned heavens.

"What's wrong?" Shadow Matt asked, getting straight to the point.

"Everything! I almost killed you yesterday, the ruler wants us all dead, Kiyon's still missing, and if that's not enough, Matt almost died last night." She snapped. Realizing her tone she softened. "I'm sorry, Shadow Matt. I just wish I could be of more use to you guys. Especially Matt. He saved me when I tried to kill him. I can't......I can't help but-"

"You like Matt, don't you?" Shadow Matt sighed. Her eyes quickly darted away as her face reddened. "But Matt likes Hotaru. I'm sure you understand that. So you might want to push him aside for now. I'm sure you'll find someone better suited for you than Matt. There's not much use in loving someone who doesn't love you back. All you can do is hope and move on." Shadow Matt said, trying to be helpful, but realizing he wasn't doing a very good job. "AH, not that what I say makes any sense anyways, right?" SM got no reply. The shadow gave a sigh. "I'm sorry if I said something that made you feel bad."

"Wait Shadow Matt!" But he was gone. Isis let out her own sigh. Was what he had said right? Should she just move on? After all, it was all just a silly little crush on some human.......

-

Matt frowned. He was before the quarters used to converse with that Lanalli person and he could already sense the evil. Earlier he had succeeded to get Midian to her room, though it had been quite difficult after she had fallen asleep in his arms. He had let her rest in her own bed and she seemed to be doing fine. After about an hour's time Oka had fetched him and led him here. But here wasn't exactly where he wanted to be. Oka turned to him solemnly.

"I'll try to convince Mistress Lanalli of your amnesia, master, but I can on no circumstance guarantee your meeting will be put off." Oka murmured, a deep respect in his voice. Without another word the wolf boy slipped into the quarters and was gone. Matt sighed nervously and began to fidget about. He did not like the idea of conversing with this 'Lanalli.' She sent out this horrid disgusting aura and set his whole soul trembling with its malice. After what seemed like forever Oka emerged, looking somewhat pale.

"Mistress Lanalli will speak to you.......Master." Oka whispered, almost as if he were speaking to air. Then he wandered off without another word, leaving Matt to his fear and worry. Slowly Matt dared to push open the door. He felt- he felt safe? What was going on? There before him was a pool of water, almost as if it had been polluted with ink. But other than that the room seemed so empty and dull. Matt inched forward, his curiosity prompting him to look into the dark liquid. Suddenly a shape began to form above the pool, spiraling slowly until it formed a humanoid figure. Slowly the water dribbled down revealing the transparent form of a woman. The most beautiful women Matt had ever laid his eyes on. Matt almost smiled, feeling like he was trapped in a good dream. What was happening? This wasn't the same feeling he had gotten before.

"I must suggest for you not to look in there." The voice crooned. He almost felt hypnotized in the soft song of the woman's voice. "What you see may discomfort you, young master Matt." Matt instantly snapped out of his trance, choking at her words. "Speechless, I see. Don't worry. I shan't dare to do anything to you while your soul is in that body." She seemed to laugh. Such a warm voice; almost lulling.

"How did you-" Matt began, eyes wide in horror.

"Oh come, Matt! Do you surely think I wouldn't be able to recognize whether you were my lord or not. It is folly to think you could disguise yourself as the ruler I controlled since he was just a boy. Yet, you obviously tricked that fool, Midian. And not to mention the rest of those dimwitted children my lord calls minions." A slight bitterness stripped away some of the true beauty of her voice.

"What'll you do now?" Matt asked, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice.

"Why nothing, dear. I won't hurt you. I just wish to talk." She laughed, almost as if he was a child fearing some trivial thing.

"You're the one behind all this, aren't you?" Matt asked, frowning, confused at what he ought to do.

"Of course. The one you know as the 'ruler' is my simple pawn. And a powerful pawn he is, descending from two of the most powerful mage bloodlines in existence. Magic flows through that child's veins." She trilled.

"Child?!?!" Matt blurted out, unable to control himself. This woman spoke of the ruler as if he were some little toy, not a threat at all!

"Why yes, dear. He is still young. Too young to understand precisely what power he has. Too young to even truly comprehend exactly what he is helping me to do." She chortled sinisterly, the warmth in her tone almost evaporating. "Of course, you are the same way. How about it, young master? I can teach you. I can teach you more than you could ever imagine. More than even my current lord knows. I could promise your dear Hotaru's safety. You would always be able to protect her." Lanalli invited serenely.

"Never. I refuse to let you use me! I won't be another one of your pawns. I won't sink that low." Matt snarled, no longer even slightly comforted by her beauty, nor her sweet words. "I saw what you are truly like. I saw what you did to that poor girl, Midian!"

"Do you wish for me to do the same to you? To your friends?" She replied wickedly. "You can save them all from my wrath. Save them from the devastation now before them. Or do you want them to die?"

"Better them than the whole world." Matt managed to strangle out that statement, trying to hide his lie behind coldness. Lanalli smiled.

"Haha. Silly boy. You cannot hide anything from me. I will spare your friends if you simply come to your senses and-"

"I WILL NEVER- EVER JOIN YOU, NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY!" Matt roared. The woman shrugged.

"Have it your way. You'll crawl right back to me and beg me for my favor once my lord gets through with you. 'Tis your own loss. And what a vital loss it'll be for you. I am through with you." Lanalli yawned and suddenly Matt felt a wrenching pain course through him for a brief second, like his soul was being torn from his body and thrown into eternal darkness. Then it was gone and he was on his knees outside the room, panting, just as the doors slammed behind him.

"I-I'm not finished!!!" Matt managed to shout, weakly. But it was obvious that she was finished with him, and there would be nothing he could do about it. Pounding the ground with one fist he vented, before pulling himself up to his feet and brushing himself off. He refused to give that woman the pleasure of seeing his bewilderment and rage. With an exasperated huff he turned away and began to make his way through the halls, back to Midian.

-

It was still pretty early in the morning when Kazeru wandered down the stairs. He had been up way earlier than even Isis had. For that matter, he hadn't slept at all. He sighed, realizing Uma was awake, and strolled casually to the kitchen, feeling rather short. As the echo of his boots sounded from the stone floor his childhood friend looked to him in an unfamiliar way.

"Oh, hello Matt. You must be hungry!" She said, offering him a roll. Her warm voice did nothing to hide the fact that she was troubled. Kazeru knew her too well.

"Oh... no. I'm not hungry." He pointed out trying to back away.

"Eat it!" She growled before he could fully back away and slammed the roll into his mouth. "I don't want you to starve after all you've been through!" Kazeru rolled his eyes, and yanked the bread from his mouth, obviously irritated. He wiped the annoyed stare from his face as he realized Uma was eyeing him funny.

"I didn't really come down for food. I was wondering if there was anything I could help you with." A puzzled gaze found its way into Uma's eyes and she shook her head.

"Not really. I assigned taking care of the horses to Kive and well, I've got everything else."

"Perhaps I could aide.... Kive.... with the horses?" Kazeru suggested as politely as he could muster. For a second her jaw dropped, but soon she smirked, causing Kazeru to frown. Was there something strange about what he said?

"Hah! For a second I thought you actually wanted to HELP Kive! But now I see. You're just as competitive as that little scoundrel. Okay, you can "aide" Kive with the horses, but I warn you that he's pretty skilled seeing that _I_ trained him. I don't think you're going to be able to prove anything to Hotaru in that field." Uma snickered. Kazeru stared at her and rolled his eyes. He wasn't doing this for any goody goody girl! Rolling his eyes he shrugged at her and left, shutting the door rather loudly behind him....

-

Isis fiddled with her long hair, gazing curiously into the distance. She knew SM was correct. She simply had a little crush on Matt. Just because he had helped her. Just because he seemed so nice. Still, it would be nice if the affection were returned. She really wished to be alone so she could think. With a simply sigh she pulled herself to her feet and swept the dirt from her clothes. Thinking it all over she decided to go off and check on Kiyon. Or course, she knew he had probably just gotten carried away and did not realize that his lateness would be even greater due to the difference in time flow between both worlds. It would probably be better to tell someone. Yet, somehow, she felt she couldn't. Faltering slightly she gazed around for anyone who might also be up. Her eyes finding no one she began to hurry off in the direction of the Ruins of Hope.

-

Kive set down the bundle of fodder on the ground with the grunt and wiped off the sweat from his brow. These tasks seemed so exhausting after so many years of idleness. He hadn't done this type of work in four years! Not to mention the fact that Uma had 24 horses in the stable, and that didn't include the foals and mares that were soon foal, which needed special attention. This was all a strain for him! What was that slave driver woman thinking? He hadn't even finished filling the fodder and water troughs yet! He had a feeling his arms would be jelly by the time all this was over. Perhaps it really had been a rotten idea to suggest coming back here. Finished with his brief period of rest Kive gripped the fodder and hoisted it back into his arms. Steadily trying to keep a balance with his load he turned only to drop the fodder upon spotting a figure leaning in the frame of the door. Eyes narrowing, he picked up the weight once more. What the heck was Matt doing here? And more importantly, how has Matt gotten in without him even noticing? Not a sound or a sliver of light. Kive rolled his eyes and heaved the fodder into a random horses stall.

"Struggling?" Kazeru in the guise of Matt asked. His voice almost seemed taunting, though it was not intentional.

"Tch. No." Kive snapped, taking Kazeru's words as insult. "Does is LOOK like I'm struggling?" The boy then held his tongue, realizing perhaps that his choice of words was unwise. Kazeru merely raised an eyebrow, appearing amused. "Don't you have anything better to do than hover over there? Aren't you TIRED or DEAD or something? I mean come on. You're frickin stupidity is hindering my ability to work! Besides it's not like YOU can do anything here anyways."

"Maybe you're right, but you look like you could use some...help." Kazeru could not help but falter over the word "help."

"HAH! You want to help me? Don't lie, you fool. Tell me. Did Hotaru ask you to come down here out of pity for me? Or did Uma force you? I'm dying to know."

Kazeru frowned. It was rather apparent that Matt and this little imp weren't exactly the best of friends. Normally arrogance like this brat's would annoy him, but for some reason, it amused him. Perhaps because the kid's snide remarks were aimed, not towards him, but towards his main foe. So was this "Kive" Matt's rival or someone of that sort? If so this might be interesting. He had never really had a rival like this before. Now how to respond...? "Neither. I just thought I could do your job better."

"Is that so......" Kive's eyes narrowed significantly. "I seriously doubt that. I suppose Uma didn't tell you about me."

"Is this important somehow?"

"I was just trying to give you a fair warning. After all, I spent an entire year here breathing, sleeping, and waking for horses thanks to that slave driver woman, Uma. Unless you've ever done something for her, you have no idea what it means to work with horses."

"Who ever said I cared?" Kazeru's nearly exploded with curiosity and suspicion. This "Kive" kid had spent a year here, just as he had. Was this boy Uma's sad attempt to replace him?

"I see. So you're finally going to start fighting back? You sure- WHAT?!?" Kive snapped, growing nervous due to the way "Matt" seemed to be inspecting him. "I know I'm handsome and all, Matt, but that's just gross. You KNOW I don't swing that way."

"What are you talking about, Kive? I noticed the way you stare so longingly at..." Kazeru faltered on his words. What other guys were there here. The despot smirked. "Shadow Matt."

"WHAT!?!?!? YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR MIND!!!" Kive roared, lugging over another bale of fodder over and chucking it at Kazeru as hard as he could. The ruler grinned and dodged effortlessly. "IF YOU THINK I'M GOING TO STAND FOR THAT YOU'RE DEAD WRONG!"

"I don't plan on battling you..." The ruler sent another smirk towards his younger companion. "I already know I can beat you. Besides, Uma might be upset if I make you cry like a baby." The look on Kive's face was priceless. That kid was peeved. But the boy seriously had no idea who he was dealing with. He was in over his head!

"WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!" Kive snarled, drawing his blade.

"What? Oh sure. But first, don't you want your present?" Kazeru asked, as innocent a tone as he could muster, which still sounded rather wicked. Kive looked up at him, bewildered and suspicious. "Curious? Don't worry. It's right.... HERE!" Kazeru slammed his foot into the fallen brick of fodder sending it hurtling towards his poor opponent. The load slammed Kive straight on, smashing him straight on to the ground, where he slid until stopped by an unkind pillar, pinned by the large bale of horse feed. The ruler stared down towards his leg, realizing it was throbbing. It was easily ignorable. Still, he was surprised his leg could take such a blow. Perhaps Matt wasn't as pathetic as he appeared.

"Damn you, Matt." The weak curse rose from the pile of fodder. The acid in it was rather evident.

"Oh, no problem! I thought you would like it." Kazeru feigned kindness. "I'll take care of the horses. Seems you're a little weighed down." He shrugged, snickering softly as he began to do Kive's work. He hadn't fought in such a manner with anyone since he had left this place five years ago. He and Uma had bickered like this, but of course NEVER this violent. This little squabble made him feel like a child again. Made him feel like the world outside of this place was unimportant. Sometimes he wished he could feel like that all the time. With a huff he shook the ridiculous thoughts away and continued Kive's job.

"HEY! I'm not finished with you!" A winded growl sounded from behind him. Kazeru turned and sidestepped away, easily dodging the bundle of fodder dealt at him. Kive stood there, panting, looking just short of a wreck. The disgruntled boy received a response of a raised eyebrow and a challenging stare.

"Oh, but I'm finished with you." Kazeru stated calmly. "You might as well leave. You're only impeding my work." Making it evident he was through with words he turned his back and continued his work and an infuriated Kive was presented with no other choice but to quite his jabbering.

"I'll show you, Matt." Kive snarled under his breath before joining Kazeru with the task assigned.

-

Red eyes flickered to the left as the sullen cat girl halted on her path towards the ruins through the wood. Something was amiss among the trees. Isis put on an expression of deep thought. She wondered, would it be wise to stop? After all, she didn't know what was out there. Plus, she was out with a purpose. Still...... Shrugging off her doubts she crept into the woods.

There were sounds. Unnatural sounds coming from the depths of the foliage. The sounds of man. But they were still far; too far for human ears to have picked up on. But she wasn't human, was she? She continued to creep upon the curious resonance until it became inaudible voices. It was here that Isis began to feel dread. These voices.... They did not sound friendly. For that matter, the malice within them made her frown. Still, it was too far to head back now. And besides, she was so close. So she continued until she could at last distinguish the once faint jargon as true words.

"-Yes, we will commence with the plan. I ask you, men, what have we to lose? The ranch is the perfect target once those blasted brats leave. It's all a matter of waiting." A cruel voice growled.

"But why don't we strike now? After all, it is as you say. They are only mere fledglings. With our '_advantage_' they shan't stand a chance...." This was a greener man, very unsure and hesitant in his words.

Did these rogues truly mean to raid the ranch? She had to stop them! But what was this advantage? She continued to let her ears provide the answer. Another of the voices continued on...

"We could train the boys. And the women...."

"Do you DARE question my choice?" The first, crueler voice lashed out with rage. This man. She didn't like him. And this was just from the sound of their voice. "You swine. Always thinking of women. That's not the purpose here. And it is because of those mere 'boys' that I have decided the way I have. They are sword bearers. By the look of it adventurers. Even the women. And I do not want any sort of struggle. However after they depart there will only be the light sorceress wench to deal with. And as you know, we can easily trounce her. And if it be your wish, after we take the horses you can have your way with the hedge witch. I care not. I only want the horses. Or more specifically.... The horse. Now about our... 'advantage'-"

Isis's mind suddenly pivoted from her eavesdropping as a soft crunch sounded from behind her. Her eyes shot wide open as they landed upon a pair of boots. Instantly she shot up and back, slamming into a tree. Horrified the cat girl looked into the face of the prowler finding hardened emerald eyes of youth, holding not a trace of pity for the stray eavesdropper. A stern glare framed on his face made her feel threatened. He meant ill and she would not stand around and get slaughtered! Quickly she tried to finish him with a strike with lightning. But her attempt failed in a puff of smoke. Again she tried. Nothing! Pure terror etched onto her features as she stared at her hands, disbelieving. With a wave of repulsion she realized she couldn't even transform. Completely defenseless! Her young assailant raised an eyebrow at her. "A spy? You were careless." He snarled. "Careless and foolish. You're obviously defenseless. How disgusting." That was it. She would not be cornered and degraded by some human boy her age. Without a second thought Isis pounced at him, with her cat like grace weaving and whipping out at the boy with fists and feet alike. It was all he could do to block and dodge. But soon enough he dived out of her range and his hand quickly darted towards the trunk of a tree. Before she could even initiate another assault he had a bow loaded and drawn with an arrow cocked at her. She let out a fierce growl of frustration.

"Kill me." She snapped. "I refuse to be your hostage. And if you shall take me, it will be my corpse that you take."

He was giving her that unnerving look again. One eyebrow raised, judging and condemning. After one glance at his expression the first time she had hated it. Now he was giving her that look AGAIN. Her hands began to clench and unclench. Oh how she wished to wipe that look of his haughty face.

"I won't kill you." He said simply. Pity? From this guy? For some reason she was NOT relieved. Why was he sparing her? He was part of that group of scoundrels wasn't he? That's the way it seemed. What she wouldn't give to be able to assume her true form and beat the sense out of these creeps. Creeps who wanted to hurt her closest friends. Oh her magic. Why? Where had it gone!?!? She tried to keep the utter distress from her face by biting down her lip.

"And why not? How do you expect to capture me? I told you- I refuse to let you capture me...."

"That's you're choice. There are ways that don't involve your agreement.." He murmured unsympathetically. She eyed him with her unnerving cat eyes, refusing to let her guard down. How to get past that darn bow? A frown materialized on her lips and took a step forward. He wouldn't kill her, right? So what threat was he? One advance after another and the boy seemed frozen with indecision. But as another step brought her closer she instantly knew she had crossed the line. The arrow was free. Swiftly she leaned and snatched the arrow out of flight before leaping at him, swiping her newfound weapon at the archer. Clenching her teeth she continued her attack. He didn't seem worried at all. The guy was fast, almost as fast as her and he obviously knew what he was doing. In the flurry of attacks he suddenly dodged low letting her open herself and quickly his massive bow hurtled at her smacking her behind her knees, which instantly buckled. Isis winced, hitting the ground. Where the hell was her grace now? Her eyes, which had sealed during the fall reopened only to see green eyes, mocking. The arrow in her hand.... He snapped it. "You're pretty good...." He murmured coldly. "But that's not going to help you now." Suddenly his bow was coming straight down at her head and a massive pain hit her.... Then...

...._nothing_ ....

-

As he approached Midian's room Matt began to hear voices. It was Dark Shadow Matt... and Midian. So she was awake now? That was good. With great stealth he snuck behind the doorway and listened. He knew it was immoral but for some reason he felt wrong interrupting their conversation. Besides... he was..._curious_....

"Geez. And what made you think that she _wouldn't_ hear you, you idiot?!" DSM scoffed. It seems this conversation had been going on for a while. What was DSM doing here anyways? Didn't he hate Midian's guts?

"Shut up. I don't need you, a useless deadweight like you, ridiculing me."

"Yeah well, at least I have the sense not to mess with the most powerful being this side of the earth."

"Pfh. She's not so great." Silence. Matt could just see DSM scowling.

"Yeah?" The shadow grumbled, breaking the silence. "Well for something not so great she sure messed you up pretty bad. You look like crap."

"WHAT!!!! SAY THAT AGAIN DIRTCLAUD!" Midian screeched, the bed screaming as Midian moved. Matt's eyes widened. Maybe he should stop them before Midian blasted a hole through DSM's head. Sure, it would save them the work of getting rid of the eviler of the shades, but still. With a sigh Matt shook his head and entered the room. Instantly he blushed. Midian... had changed. She was now wearing a white button up shirt, which at the moment was almost too revealing. The blankets that had previously been over her had been thrown back as she had lunged up and grabbed DSM by the neck and the sheets were now cascading uselessly over her waist.

"Mi-Midian..... stop.... Stop damn it... You.. you're k-killing... me." The shadow rasped trying to push her away with one hand while trying to unclasp her fingers from his neck with the other. The grip softened and his eyes trailed from her narrowed lavender eyes to where his hand rested. "I-I.... Y-your... shirt... it's....." His eyes widened and quickly he withdrew his hand. Midian stared down at her own attire for a split second before rage flared up in her eyes.

"WHERE ARE YOU STARING!?!?! WHAT WERE YOU TOUCHING!?!? JUST BECAUSE I'M WEAK YOU THINK THAT YOU, A WORTHLESS WORM, C-CAN.....CAN..... _MOLEST ME_!?!?!" Midian shrieked, turning a deep crimson; partially from fury, partially from humiliation. "I'M GOING TO BLAST YOU INTO OBLIVION!!!!" She roared, shaking DSM mercilessly. Then, after reeling the unfortunate shadow around cruelly she hurled him with unhampered strength straight into the wall.

"AUGH. YOU WENCH!! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!" Dark SM bellowed sounding slightly mortified. "Besides.... There was nothing TO touch..." Oooh.... He was DEAD. Matt shook his head in pity from his observing station by the door. The guy was going to get it. As if on cue Midian screamed out with her rage and began to pelt DSM ruthlessly with white magic before the poor soul could even make it into the shadows. Matt bit his lip, tempted to cover his eyes as the monster Midian had become continuously rained down her wrath of light upon the shade. The guy was practically screaming out for her to stop. At this rate she was going to kill him. It was about this point that Matt realized... perhaps now might be the appropriate time to help. Putting his hand to his mouth he cleared his throat. Instantly both Midian and Dark Shadow Matt, still sizzling from the assault, halted and stared over at him.

"_M- master_....?!!? H-how long..... have you...." She murmured, wide eyed and obviously flustered. Matt simply shook his head. His eyes darted at her shirt again and then away. Midian's face flushed once more and she instantly pulled the blanket over her front. "I...I...."

"Oh... sure. You don't... beat the living... crap... out of him w-when he.... He stares at.... you..." DSM strained shakily while stumbling up to his feet, obviously injured both physically and in pride.

"SHUT it...." Midian snarled. Her eyes fell, self-consciously towards Matt before looking away, face tinted rose. "Umm... Umm.. I'll get.. changed.... Yes.." She mumbled, obviously nervous, while glancing at the door. Matt got the hint and headed out. At least she had recovered. No weak, wounded person could pull off stunts like that! With a sigh he parked himself against the wall outside her room, feeling great pity for her victim. "WHAT!? AND YOU THINK I'LL LET I YOU /I STAY HERE AND WATCH ME!" He heard her shout.

"LIKE I'D WANT TO!! Anyways... I already told you. There would be nothing to see." The shadow howled and Matt instantly heard the crackle of magic against wall. It seems that DSM had learned his lesson. After all, shadows were a Shadow person's best friend.......

-

With a jolt the cat girl shot forward suddenly awakened, only to be constrained. What was this! Where was she? Slowly the events of the day filtered back into her mind and she groaned. Almost in a labored manner her eyes slid open before widening significantly in response to the greeting of a pair of green eyes.

"She's awake! Aw, c'mon kid. She's a pretty one." A voice crooned from behind her archer _friend._ The emerald eyes swiveled to glare behind frostily.

"Silence. You will not lay a finger on her." Her captor snapped, ominous tones threading through his words.

"How dare you, boy. You have no authority over me. I'll slit your throat here and now!" Isis heard his companion hiss. She felt cold... very cold. This would turn out bad if it continued. And she had a feeling it wouldn't be pleasant for her, whoever won. Suddenly a crunch of autumn leaves resonated around them.

"Theta, Phi, hush up. You're scaring our guest." The cruel voice barked out, harshly. It was the man from before. Was he the leader? "Now, you're dismissed Phi. Theta, you stay."

"Yes, my Alpha." And with that the one known as Phi was gone, but not before murmuring threats and curses at the archer boy and his leader. The two remaining members chose to let it slide.

"What do you want with me!" Isis snarled fiercely; this was her attempt to be bold. She had to hide her fear somehow!

"Silly kitten. You're lucky to be here untouched. Our Theta watched closely over you; guarded you. So you shouldn't act as if we weren't kind. As if we didn't do what was appropriate." A pendent was swinging softly from his neck, diverting her attention momentarily. All the members she'd seen so far seemed to have this. Even green eyes.

"WHAT? Kind? Hardly. And you didn't answer my question...." She growled at the Alpha.

"We just want some answers." The leader grinned, feigning kindness. "Theta. Do as you've been assigned." And with that he trudged off in his usual commandeering swagger. Now it was just her and green eyes again. And she knew this would be uncomfortable. Not because she was tied to the tree, but because... well this guy himself had not exactly proved himself to be the most comfortable person to be around.

"What's your name?" Theta whipped out of nowhere, his voice sounding significantly less bitter. She eyed him strangely.

"Why should I tell you?" She received awkward silence in reply.

"You're with the warriors of legend, are you not?" It was her turn to reply with silence. "I've seen you with them. Don't think I haven't. Now you ought to start answering my questions otherwise I'll be forced to hand you over to someone less considerate. I won't be able to protect you then."

"PROTECT ME? Is that what you think you're doing? You gave me a gigantic lump on my head that'll hurt for the next week!" She whimpered, enduring the pain. He simply shook his head.

"Well at least I didn't violate you in anyway." He pointed out abruptly, obviously growing irritated with her. Isis instantly blushed. "Nor did I let anyone else. Now, before I lose my patience with you, girl, answer my questions. Perhaps later, if I feel gracious I'll answer yours." He had assumed his solemn voice once again. The cat girl sighed. There was no wait out of this anyways. She didn't have much of a choice. Besides.... These people scared her.

"My name is Isis." A falter in her speech. "And yes... I do travel with them." He seemed satisfied.

"I will untie you. You will follow me without struggle. If you do I will be forced to knock you out again. And should you escape I guarantee you will fall into the hands of one of my less courteous cohorts. Understood?" Numbly, Isis nodded.....

-

Theta had led her out further into the woods for who knows what purpose. He seemed rather nervous, tense. He must have broken commands. But why? What exactly was he planning to do? Perhaps she didn't want to know. That decided she waited until his back was turned when she lunged out and wrenched away his bow. She swiftly slammed him with all her strength causing him to stumble and trip. Bow posed in both hands behind her back, ready to swing, she smirked at the fallen boy. "Now you'll be the one giving me answers." She purred. "Now tell me why I shouldn't beat you senseless with this?"

"Well." He muttered with a long drawn sigh. "I could dodge it. And second of all. I know for a fact that you're not going to want to do that."

Oh REALLY?" She warned, acting as if she was about to swing. Her companion winced slightly.

"Shh. Not so loud. My associates are all ready leery of me. Now. Listen to me. Just. Just Listen."

"Why?" Skeptical was an understatement for what Isis felt right now.

"Because I'm not who you think." What? Who was this guy? And what was up with all these charades? "Listen. I know Matt." Instantly she dropped the bow. MATT? How? Through his mask of stone expression she could see some relief break though at her reaction. He stood and dusted himself off. "I met him once. I believe he and his friends are taking care of my little brother." B-brother? Who was his brother? WHO WAS THIS GUY? "Now. I don't want him harmed in any way. With Matt and his random adventures the kid's bound to be put through some danger. I would get him right now, but... I can't." Theta's eyes became downcast.

"What? But why? Why stick with this group when you could be taking care of your brother?"

"Because. The Alpha stole something... very important to me. I NEED to get it back." The mysterious archer growled, eyes narrowing. "Until then, I cannot let you go, nor can I leave, myself."

"How do you plan on getting it back?"

"I must fight him. I must win." He seemed worried. "I'll do it today...."

"Well... I'll help you then. But first I'm curious about a few things." She waited for Theta's nod before she continued.

"Your brother... it's Kiyon... isn't it." Another nod. She had figured. The looked slightly similar now that she paid attention.

"And your name. It's not _really_ Theta, is it?" Curiosity overwhelmed her.

"No.... That's my rank. My real name is Hakiyo Shasra. That's who I really am....."

-

With great caution, Hakiyo led Isis back into the rogue's camp, taking care not to be noticed. So far they had been successful.....

"So Theta. Where have you been?" A female voice chanted, low but beautiful. Both youths turned to face the source of this melody and Isis beheld a gorgeous lady who was both enchanting but dangerous. Besides her was another man.

"B-beta... I."

"Alpha must be cross, though he's doing an incredible job hiding it. And I must say, I'm not too pleased myself. I have zero tolerance for turncoats. Explain yourself now or I shall cut you down personally." The man besides Beta growled.

"Silence yourself, Gamma. Give little Theta a chance to redeem himself. You have you're reasons, don't you kid?" She said, a peril lying within those kind words.

"Of course.... When do I not?" The archer shrugged dully. "I had a job and I completed it. Is it so wrong that I had some fun in the process." Hakiyo then struck out his arm and within a split second he lurched Isis towards him, not gentle in the least, causing her to slam into him. With his free hand he cupped her face and caused her to look up at him as he grinned. Rather authentic at that. Isis instantly felt the blood rush to her cheeks. W-what was he DOING?!? She had a good mind to put an end to his strange erotic fantasies. "We had some _fun_ , didn't we?" The boy snickered as she turned her eyes downwards, blushing terribly. He released her almost harshly. His face reverted to its normal stone expression with unfaltering emerald eyes penetrating those of his other affiliates. "Needless to say. I've got the information needed out of her and I will report it to Alpha immediately. So I'll be off. I trust this.... Girl... in your care Beta. I assume you know how to handle humans of your own gender." Pitilessly he practically threw the cat girl at his assassin superior. And with that he turned and strode away, without even a look back. Isis had never felt so alone.... And so deserted.

"Tch. Men. They're all alike." The woman known as Beta scoffed. Quickly she noticed Gamma eying Isis and that the girl was trembling. "Gamma, leave her be. You're frightening the child. Besides, Theta's obviously had his way with her. Now, I'll watch over her so off with you before I slit your pathetic throat." Her ally snorted before waving her off with an inappropriate gesture and disappearing into the trees. "Don't worry, kitten. I've got your back. Us women need to stick together. I'm sure Theta didn't rough up with you too bad. He's actually one of the gentler ones, you know. Not to mention reserved and recluse. But I think he's taken a liking towards you... heh. Funny. I always thought he was different because he never seems to get excited by the prospect of women. I was beginning to suspect the kid swung a different direction. Now I see he was just waiting for a particularly pretty one to come along. Your life just might be spared. But for now you're safe with me. I won't let any of those revolting dogs lay another finger on you." And with that she linked elbows with Isis and dragged her off to who knows where...

-

After a few hours of having his honor questioned and ridiculed Kazeru had almost enough. "Would you SHUT UP? I' m trying to work!" Kazeru growled, patience running thin. With a huff he heaved the final bail into the horse stall.

"Yeah well, it's my job so why don't you just lay off."

"Then you ought to thank me for doing your dirty work."

"What? WHY!??! For doing a half job on my task? YEAH RIGHT! Uma's going to lecture me forever for the crap you're calling work." Kive groaned.

"Tsk......."

"What? You don't think my work is sufficient?"

"No......."

"YOU!! Yeah well. It's a common fact that I beat you at this." Kive snapped. A raised eyebrow was again Kazeru's response. "After all. I beat you at everything."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Everything..." '_he's not going to take that lying down.._' Kive snickered.

"Really.... Is that so? I'd put you back in your place, which is obviously below my feet. Just as I did earlier...." Kazeru shrugged haughtily, knowing he was walking into a challenge.

"Oh? That's what YOU think. I bet I could beat you. Even at a horse race." Kazeru's eyes narrowed. There was NO way this kid could beat him at that. He, for a fact, had a way with horses. Especially these horses. Besides, although he had never ridden her, Whisp had always been a promising mare. After all, she was the daughter of his father's horse and Uma's. The interbreeding of the two most prominent raised horses was, well, almost guaranteed to be flawless.

"I doubt that. I say we race to determine which of us is the better. Or are you going to back out of your word?" Kazeru challenged.

"Back out? Never! Not when I can whip your butt!" Kive lashed out. "Nightfall and I against you and whatever horse you choose. Sunset. Then you can whimper before me as I beat you senseless." He sneered, sapphire eyes dancing with competitiveness.

"Well, I accept your challenge." Kazeru sneered. This kid had no idea what he was getting himself into.......

-

"-Yeah, if I wasn't so good then those pigs would be all over me. But luckily I have skill that out matches them all, with the exception of the Alpha of course. They cower in my wake. None of them dare to touch me. I've killed about five of my fellow comrades. It got to the point that Alpha was almost ready to slit my throat with rage for picking off some of his best people....." Beta droned on. Isis did her best to look interested. After all, if what this woman said was true she was a wonder to fear and behold. Still, it was the already midday. It had been morning when Hakiyo had left her. Where was he now? It had been hours! What was he doing?

Suddenly a cry of anguish shot out from nearby. Instantly, Beta had grabbed her and they appeared at the site where the shout had sourced. There was Hakiyo, fallen to his knees, clenching his arm as steam arose from it. What had caused this....? Magic? But how? Beta had told her magic was nullified. Isis couldn't help but gasp as she beheld the sight of her ally, reduced to kneeling at the feet of his merciless superior. The cat observed with her keen eyes horrified as the Alpha's fingers seemed to dance, itching for more.

"Y-you! But... HOW?" Hakiyo cried out in frustration. The alpha walked over to him and bent down so they were at eye level. Then, with a jerk the Alpha broke the archer's pendant's chain, clasping it as it slid from the former guild member's neck. The insignia of his membership had been stolen.

"A back attack? Wise. I see you've learned well. But you didn't expect this....." Alpha taunted, clenching Hakiyo's pendant in rough hands... "..... to fail you. Boy, I overpower this pendant by a hundred fold. No measly artifact like this can seal my sorcery. Foolish of you to rely on an advantage bestowed upon you by ME. Too bad for your treachery, Theta. You were a decent opponent. I can see you are promising." The owner of those cruel words raised his hands parallel to Hakiyo's head ready to blast his soul from his body.

"Kiyon.... I couldn't...." Hakiyo murmured faintly, hope fading from those prominent emerald orbs.

"Stop!" Isis screeched, causing both fighters to divert they're attention to her. Beta gripped her arm, digging nails into her skin.

"Shh, lass. They're amidst a duel. Not our business to interfere."

"No.... let the kitten proceed. I think she has a proposition." The man shrugged, offering her this chance to save her friend.

"Fight me. If you win then you may do as you please. But should I be victorious you will release... '_Theta'_... and I, give him what you've stolen, and forget your plans of raiding the ranch." The cat snarled.

"ISIS! What the heck... do you think... you're doing? Step down! N-now!" Hakiyo commanded, pleading hidden somewhere within.

"Aha. So many demands from such a small creature. You realize I'm not obliged to accept your challenge. What if I do not?" He smirked seeing the horrified confusion littering her visage. They both disregarded Hakiyo completely "But I will. I've been curious of your skill. So let's see it... Come at me now. And remember. Don't lose. After all... you've got a lot at stake." Timidly Isis began to step forward only to have a fireball shooting at her, which she easily weaved around. Beta was forced to dodge as well.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE FIRING, ALPHA!!!" The woman screamed at her leader, obviously cross. The man just gave her a smirk to show he had done it purposely.

"You're going to have to be swifter than that." He warned, now serious. He wanted fast? She would give him fast. Quickly she used her inhuman agility to zoom past his assaults of fire and halted with ease, face up in his face. "How cruel. I'm defenseless after all." She mouthed only for his ears before attempting a kick at his stomach. He quickly caught her foot and hurled it to the side causing her to stumble. While she stumbled he unlatched the pendant from his own neck and threw it to the ground.

"Well, now you're less defenseless aren't you?" His question was answered as a wave of lightning plummeted at him. Quickly he countered with his own fire. As the smoke cleared the shape of a human faded into something more massive. Something.... More dangerous. The Alpha raised a brow. There, before them now was a gargantuan feline beast, pulsating with electric currents.

"What... the hell..." Hakiyo murmured, obviously entranced.

"That's.... no kitten." Beta chuckled, awed as well. Their leader alone remained unfazed, his only reaction being...

"Hmph.... Interesting." Of course he had no chance to say much more for the blur of yellow zipped towards him at unbelievable speed. He hastily maneuvered away, letting the smudge of electricity slide right past him. Big mistake. The man winced, visible slashes engraved all down his right side, sparks still dancing around the wounds. The cat retracted her spikes before lunging at him again fangs barred. With his own peculiar speed his foot caught her straight in the jaw. And with a great burst of power fire pulsed from his hands into her face. Isis roared in pain, instantly backing away. "I'm tired, playing around with you.... Kitten......" And without even a second's pause a pillar of inferno engulfed the massive feline, which continued to roar its anguish, struggling to escape the fiery enclosure imprisoning her. Slowly the fight in her faded until she collapsed. The column of flames faded into smoke once more revealing the toppled form of a girl. The victor smiled, pity adorning his cold eyes.

"You...... killed her...." Hakiyo snarled. The man bent down and picked up the limp form by the wrist before tossing it recklessly at the archer, where it laid lifelessly against him.

"Naw..... not quite. She's too good to kill. Hmm.... I think that.... Perhaps after I take care of you, traitorous worm, I'll offer her your rank. But I have more urgent matters right now than slaying you." The man sneered. His gaze flitted over to Beta. "There has been a change of plans. This little kitty's friends will no doubt be looking for her when she turns up missing through the night. They'll be searching for her probably by the morning of tomorrow. We can't have that, can we? So we must raid in the hours of darkness, this very day. We must maintain the element of surprise. Tell the others to be ready by tonight. That's when we'll strike."

"Y-you can't!" Hakiyo gasped, wincing as he tightened his grip on his injured arm.

"Oh I can.... Yes.... And I will. Just to spite you. So tell me.... Are those children at the ranch your friends? They are... aren't they." The archer looked away, not wanting to betray them. "Hah. That's what I thought. Well, boy.... You will suffer through their deaths. And when I come back I'll finish you. Look forward to it...." The Alpha snickered. Hakiyo clenched his eyes closed. He had failed.... And he would pay for it..... with his life.....

-

DUN DUN DUUUUUUN!!!! Is this a cliffhanger Lynn!??!!?!! This is some lame cliffhanger. ahem TYPICAL BAD GUY LINE!! YESSUH!! Yeah... but take that! HWUAHAHAHAHAH!! Anyways, sorry guys.... It takes me eons to update... And I won't put up the next chapter in a long time... since once again I've been bannedededededed from the computer.... True sadness. I cry... forever. I'll miss you guys. But I promise the next chappie will go up later... at least I think I promise... tee hee...

So anyways... see you guys later... _much_ later...

T-T

For Lynn... :BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGHHH GUH GUH GUUUH... DOT DOT DOTTY...

-Sleepy Shadow Mistress


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